This month, I'm participating in the Slice of Life challenge with Two Writing Teachers. If you want to participate, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post or you can head on over there to check out other people's stories and follow along with the fun. For more information on what a Slice of Life is about, you can go here.
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Yesterday I talked about making space for young people and their voices. Today, Peanut and I went downtown to record my interview with him in the Story Corps booth in Chicago. Neither of us knew what to expect but it was a really cool experience.
The Story Corps booth is in the Chicago Cultural Center. It's a small room but you can walk in and listen to interviews. The booth is really a booth! I've never been in a recording booth before and it felt really official which is part of why I wanted to go. We looked at the app but I really wanted to experience this with him so he would know how much his voice matters. I loved how his eyes went wide when the woman who facilitated our interview told him it would be archived at the Library of Congress. It feels like we're part of history.
We were pretty happy to be done! It was kind of intense to talk for 40 minutes! We talked about how he has a great sense of humor, how he loves sports and band, and how he's a good friend. We walked over to the wall of pictures of others who have been interviewed and he spotted a guy pointing his fingers at the camera in his portrait so we did it too. I love this kid so much and I love being his mom. Both of my guys are pretty special.
If you want to join in, there are Story Corps booths in different parts of the country and there is a mobile booth that goes on tour too. You can also record interviews using the Story Corps app.
It's empowering to take time to focus on each other, to tell stories, to laugh and to cry. We must never forget how important stories are to our humanity.
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