I was brave, but she was braver
Posted on 16. Jul, 2010 by kchristieh in my life
Last night I not only attended The Moth StorySLAM for the first time, but I was brave enough to tell a story. I stood in front of a roomful of people, whom I couldn’t see because the lights were so bright, and told the story of my wild eToys ride. The theme of the evening was “On A Dime”, and ten people’s names were chosen out of a hat to tell a personal story of five minutes or less to the audience and a panel of judges. The judges liked my story, and I scored well.
There were several amazing stories that deservedly scored higher than mine. I am blessed that these are not my story. One man told of how he almost wound up in prison at Leavenworth, and a woman told of how her mother almost drove her and her siblings off a cliff.
But the most poignant story was the last story, which was told by a very classy, poised woman who is probably a few years older than me. She told of when she was 15 and had a crush on an older boy from another high school, and was thrilled that he was coming to a party at her friend’s house. When he finally arrived, he asked if she wanted to go upstairs to talk. He didn’t have talking in mind, however, and wound up raping her. As he zoomed away in his convertible, she reflected on how her life was forever changed, and how the people at the party had no idea. She was so honest, and admitted that her 15-year-old self thought this was the beginning of true love. Of course, it wasn’t. Fast forward six years, and she was in a bar with a female friend. She saw the guy across the bar, and went up to him and addressed him by name. (Note: throughout the story, she used his name. Of course, I won’t say it here, but I’ll never forget it.) When he responded that he did, SHE PUNCHED HIM. Then she ran away. Of course, that didn’t make it all better, but it helped a little. I hope that telling the story last night helped too. I wanted to give her a hug and tell her how brave she was for telling that story and how inspired I was by her actions, but I didn’t see her afterwards. Everyone in the room seemed so nice, so I’m sure she had support.
I can’t recommend The Moth StorySLAM highly enough. I love their NPR show, and speaking and hearing stories in person was even better. I laughed, I cried, and I thought about what I’d do in different situations. I felt like I walked in these peoples’ shoes, and that makes me a better, more empathetic person. Also, as I mentioned, everyone in the room seemed really nice, and I felt very comfortable there.
Too bad it’s not open to people under 21, since it was held in a bar. I wish I could have brought my 18-year-old daughter.
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