“True Story Friday…”
Shared by Breanne
“True Story Friday…”
This year, I started a new weekly tradition with my classes.
Inspired by a CharacterStrong blog post, I decided to dedicate the last five minutes of each of my classes to share a story about my life.
Students were allowed to pick one topic, and I would share a true story from my life about that topic.
I implemented the (soon to be) tradition after the second week of the school year. My students and I were still in the awkward stage of our relationship at that point.
They didn’t really know me, I didn’t really know them, and they didn’t really know each other.
Perfect time to be vulnerable…ha!
My heart was beating so fast at the end of my 1st-period class in anticipation to introduce this idea.
Do they even care about a story from my life?
What if no one picks a topic?
What if I can’t come up with a story?
I did it anyway.
“Okay first period, come over and take a seat.”
They sat at my feet like it was elementary carpet time.
“Every Friday from now on will be True Story Friday. You get to pick a topic of your choice, and I will tell you a true story from my life about that topic for the last five minutes of class. So…any topics”
I was met with stares.
I knew it! They don’t care at all. This was such a dumb idea!
“Anything?” I waited a couple more seconds
From the back of the class, one of my students with special needs blurted out: “VIDEO GAMES!”
My mind went racing. I never play video games, and never have! What kind of story could I possibly come up with relating to video games?
Then, it came to me. “Wii Fit counts as a video game, right?”
For the next five minutes, I told the story of how my college roommate, Aly, and I spent an entire weekend playing Wii Fit in an attempt to beat all the high scores that our other roommate set on the game.
She was out of town for the weekend, and we were determined to have her return to a screen full of games that she no longer held the record to.
This resulted in all day and night long sweat sessions as we attempted each game over and over. We were SO excited to have our roommate come home and turn on the game to see our names as the top scores, only to find her reaction to be less than impressed with our hard work.
By the end of my story, I had a few smiles, some laughs, and I felt relieved.
That wasn’t so bad! I can do this!
The rest of the day, I had topics ranging from “baby” to “stranded” to “worst injuries.”
As the semester has progressed, I have been able to open up to my students through story.
I’ve shared funny stories about my daughter, embarrassing moments, and my first day of kindergarten.
I’ve also shared meaningful stories about how my husband and I met, making the WWU Volleyball team, and my failures and regrets.
I’ve had to stretch myself and be authentic in the face of judgement. (Judgement by high schoolers non the less-scary!) 
Through all of this, I have found that storytelling has significant power.
Power to connect me to my students in a special way, but also the power to influence mindsets and behaviors.
While I’m telling stories, I’m also sharing experiences that my students can relate to.
In the process, I hope that I am influencing decisions, re-wiring mindsets, and inspiring action.
Every once in a while, I don’t feel like doing it. I don’t feel like being put on the spot, knowing that there would be a level of vulnerability that I’d have to dive into.
Yet, every time I feel like just ending the class without a story, I’m always met with at least one student who won’t let it happen.
“Wait-Mrs. Smedley! It’s True Story Friday! You HAVE to tell us a story!”
I’m still not sure if it’s another round of burpees they are trying to get out of, or if they’re really interested in my stories.
For now, I’m going to go with the latter.
#InspirationallyImpactful
#IntegrallyRelational
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