Reflection – Storytelling  Challenge & Selection:  Storytelling is a great tool that I use all the time. I’ll share stories for different reasons. Often  they're lonely and are so happy to share stories of their lives with me to connect and they find  meaning in sharing these experiences as a form of teaching and/or legacy, in a sense. With my  friends I share stories of my life in order to help them visualize the story, I use their feedback  against the context of my story to ascertain their goals, and sometimes we use stories to better  understand their interests and thought processes. I use this information to develop different  strategies to try and find a way that works for them to gain more independence in the areas they  find lacking in their lives.  Application:  I have a story about using storytelling. That is a thriller story  It’s 1952. A small town in the Midwest is rocked by the brutal murder of Mary, a  “colored” eleven-year-old girl, who’s been bludgeoned until nearly unrecognizable. The  sheriff, Joe Everyguy, is an upstanding and well-respected man who is determined to  get to the bottom of what might be the grisliest case of his career. But as the crime  unfolds, revealing prejudice, covered up abuse, and sexual philandering in and around  the school, he begins to realize two things: one, there’s such a hotbed of crime and  immorality in the heart of his small town that if he doesn’t root it out, it could destroy  them all. And two, all the evidence points toward one suspect: his own daughter, Linda,  Mary’s classmate and supposed friend. The town wants to hush this up, less concerned  about a black girl’s death than about ruffling feathers. Sheriff Everyguy is terrified the  truth will destroy his family if he keeps pushing for answers—he can’t uncover the cabal  without exposing his daughter. If he quits now, he abandons a lifetime of intentional  integrity and the town he loves as home. But if he keeps going, he might just be  sacrificing his little girl’s life.  Insight & Approach:  Well, wow, that was an eye-opener. Clearly it was time for me to open up with my story.  Reading or writing a crime mystery or paranormal stories it gives intelligence courage and also  an idea of how to think and deal in difficult times.  Sometimes a little story can do a lot of good.  This course made me see this as a tool in a new way. When I've done it before it was really "ad  hoc," but  now I can prepare ahead and think of stories that will assist me in presenting my ideas and best  illuminate them.  I have a design background, but I ended up as an entrepreneur in business. I had no idea this  would ever be considered an asset, but I am so very grateful that it is!

