{"id":84,"date":"2026-07-26T22:23:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T05:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/therainbowpixelconnection\/?p=84"},"modified":"2026-07-26T22:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T05:23:56","slug":"reflection-blog-the-power-of-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/therainbowpixelconnection\/2026\/07\/26\/reflection-blog-the-power-of-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection Blog: The Power of Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

This module – The Power of Stories – was a bit of a difficult topic for me to wrap my head around; even if we don\u2019t have a \u201cstory\u201d to tell (in the conventional sense), the things that matter the most to us, our hopes and fears and inspirations, are all part of the individual narratives that we carry with us. This subject also forces me to consider a trend that I\u2019ve been noticing around me, and is in fact occurring: people are not truly talking to each other, making eye contact, and taking the time to <\/span>listen<\/span><\/i>. A survey from Quantum Connections \u2013 Global Dialogue Initiative shows that 85% of Americans avoided bringing up a topic in the past 30 days because it might turn into an argument. 51% of this group say the country is becoming more curious. However, when asked about actual behaviors normally associated with curiosity (engaging with different views, seeking challenging information, changing their minds), the numbers drop significantly (Thorp, 2026).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It seems as though civilized conversation and sharing our stories is no longer occurring as frequently on a community level as well as on individual, interpersonal levels. I reflect on my extended family and their profound avoidance of painful memories, emotional rifts, things better left unsaid for fear of angry outbursts and the inevitable silent treatment and estrangement. Once uttered, it becomes like a bell that cannot be unrung. If my family is a microcosm of wider society as a whole, I fear that important stories will be lost to time and neglect.<\/span><\/p>\n

I think of my aunt, who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year. Stories that made us cry and laugh were told at her funeral. But there wasn\u2019t enough time before she passed during which any of us were able to speak with her about <\/span>her<\/span><\/i> story, in her own words and in her indelible voice; I will always regret this. I was thinking of my aunt when I came across StoryCorps\u2019s animated shorts a couple of nights ago. I was watching PBS, and it was one of those things that popped up in between shows. Of course, I read about StoryCorps while covering the materials in the module, but unexpectedly seeing it in the course of real life hits a little bit differently. StoryCorps\u2019s mission is astonishingly simple but powerful: \u201cto help us believe in each other by illuminating the humanity and possibility in us all – one story at a time\u201d (StoryCorps, n.d.). I\u2019ve included the animated shorts here, but the beauty of its setup is how engaging the story is in its simplicity, how the animation draws you in, but most importantly, hearing a person\u2019s voice narrating their own story. I appreciate StoryCorps because this is not just a random home video or a collection of photographs from a family album; there is intent and meaning to find the common humanity that we all seem to forget time and again.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n