My friend Vera recently gifted me “Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice”, which is a companion piece to Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming. The journal includes many prompts that really push you to do some self-reflection.
Well, I cracked open the journal and immediately found myself stuck at the first prompt:
What’s your story and how have you learned to embrace it?
My mind raced. What is my story? How — or when — would I start? How would it end? Is there even an ending yet? I feel like I’m still in the middle of my story and the ending is still very much a mystery to me. Hell, I don’t even know what to expect from the next chapter!
It’s an interesting question because it made me realize that we really get to write our own story. And I’m not talking about the future and making choices that affect our journey. I’m talking about looking back at the whole of our life and weaving together the bits that we choose in order to create the tale of us.
Our story is not a complete documentation of our life. Our story is a curated history. We choose what to tell and what not to tell.
Do I only tell the good parts? Well, if you’ve read my blog, you know I wouldn’t do that. But what do I focus on? Is there a main theme? How long is this story?
I’m still not sure how I’ll answer this prompt. I’m sure there will be many drafts. But my goal is to reflect on it this week and try to get something down on paper.
So stayed tuned. Maybe I’ll have a tale for you next week.
What a prompt! Glad you’re enjoying the journal! 🙂