Telling Stories
For 13 years, I worked at historic sites and museums. For over 10 years, I taught history classes online. I have an undergraduate and master's degree in history. My master's thesis was on the importance of museum education and telling the stories of our past.
Sure, I'm a graphic designer now. And I also take pictures.
But history is my first love. My always love.
And this is one thing that I know - telling the stories of the past, relies on the people who recorded their stories in their present. Our story will be told by people of the future. And so we need document our stories so they can tell them!
I recently read an article about professor Herbert Braun with the University of Virginia. He is encouraging his students to write about their daily lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bruan says, "Write it down. When you do, much of your life and who you are will be different than if you don’t.”
When we write, we share our experiences. We become part of the larger community, but we also contribute to the community in the future. This is a time like we haven't seen before. It's a time where we should be able to tell and record our stories, however big, however small.
For me, my love of the past is in the stories of every day life. It's less about the kings, queens, and founding fathers who stand so tall. It's reading the diaries of Sally Wister or Elizabeth Drinker. It's seeing the diligence of people like William Still who recorded the voices of the unheard. It's learning about local heroines who fought for women to have the right to vote. Or for women to have equal rights. It's exploring the images - often iconic images - that forever capture a place, a moment, a time.
And so I'm going to try to document my life. Mostly in images, maybe with some words. Maybe someone in the future will use them to tell the story of our world today. Or maybe they will just make me feel like I'm doing something in this time or place. I need to practice my photography, so this is a good way to challenge me to do just that! Some of my photo stories may be silly...some may be serious...some may just be photos of my cats....some may be blurry....some may be good.
But I hope they will all reflect my life today during this global pandemic. I hope they will tell a story. I hope they will push and challenge me to be a better photographer and storyteller. I hope they will give me comfort during these uncertain times. I hope they will inspire you to tell your own stories in your own way.
