Favorite Stories

My three favorite stories are the following.

1) http://storycorps.org/listen/beverly-eckert/
2) http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_purdy_living_beyond_limits.html
3) http://storycorps.org/listen/mj-seide-talks-to-her-granddaughter-genna-alperin/

These are my favorite because I feel that all three have the rule of empathy. All three do a very well job at making the listener feel what is being said, they make the listener feel as if we are living the story they are telling. I was able to laugh at the funny stories, cry at the sad ones and smile at the cute ones and i think that is an important aspect for a story to have.

 I enjoyed these stories very much and in my opinion all three are examples of what good stories sound like. They keep listeners at the edge of their seat while making us feel a cluster of emotions as well. I think that these stories have helped me understand what makes a good story and has helped outline ideas of how  I might want to make my interview story sound and flow.

Not only are these good stories but they are all very powerful and have great story structure which makes the stories all the more interesting.  

Story 12- Identity | StoryCorps | Page 3

Identity | StoryCorps | Page 3

This story I thought was very cute.  A young girl tells her mom how she feels about her dyslexia and how she feels she has it simply because her brain is different. Every bairn is a little different is what she says and she is right! Its cute how she doesn't let it bring her down and she doesn't feel any less than people who don't have dyslexia. She sounds like a very smart girl.

An observation I made was that she switched roles and started to ask her mom questions. Her parent became the interviewee like many other stories that I heard that involved children and their parents. However, It was touching to hear this little girl speak of her dyslexia and how difficult is was in the beginning but how she over came it. Although I do not have dyslexia I can still connect to her in terms of over coming difficult things. I liked how open and accepting she was and I enjoyed it because I know that she probably isn't a judgmental person because she has seen may people judge her and she knows what that feels like.

Over all, this is a touching story. It wasn't sad or unbelievable like many of the other stories but it was cute and from a child's view and I enjoyed it very much.

Story 11- Identity | StoryCorps | Page 3

Identity | StoryCorps | Page 3

The reason I picked this story was because I recognized the name. " Chunky" is popular in Barrio Logan and  although I don't personally know him I have heard of him and I know that he is known for singing about the neighborhood. I believe he grew up in Logan around the time that my mom, aunts, and uncles did and I have heard stories about how involved he is in the community.

What I really enjoyed was the second I clicked play I was intrigued by the sound of his voice. It has character and was very entertaining to listen to. Although he seemed very up beat about what he was talking about, it was still shocking to hear that teachers would change their names. He made his story funny and found a way to lighten the situation because i'm sure people may not find that funny at all but he found a way to make it funny. I really did enjoy this story, it was shorter than many of the ones I've heard but it was also one of the funniest.

Set aside from the funniness, I thought that it was actually powerful and eye opening. Teachers would change students names to sound more like  names pronounced in english and that is shocking and  wouldn't be okay now a days.

Story 10- Hurricane Katrina | StoryCorps

Hurricane Katrina | StoryCorps

This story is about a Hurricane Katrina victim and his family. I think that this story was also one that was a bit difficult to listen to because the man is telling the story about losing his family.

It makes me place myself in his situation and makes we wonder what I would do and how I would even move past the fact that my family was gone. What makes this story so sad in my opinion is the fact that he not only lost one family member but multiple! He says that he was the only one who was able to get out of the house. He lost his wife, daughter, and mother in law. It is kind of difficult to listen to because you hear his voice crack and you feel his pain and emotions along with him as he tells his story.

It makes me thing about how I would try to handle the situation and I don't think that I could be as strong as he is. He has to push himself everyday to move past it and what caught my attention about this story was when he said that he used to live for his family and what not and now they're gone. I cant even imagine what that would be like. Its a terrifying story if you place yourself in his shoes.

Although it was sad, I really liked how you feel his emotions and you know that what he is saying is coming from his heart, form pain and his own experience.

Story 9- Romance | StoryCorps | Page 4

Romance | StoryCorps | Page 4

This story is about a mother telling her son how she met his father. I thought this story had a lot of character and that is because of what is said about the boys father. Although not much is said about his actual character and what he was like you can tell that he was a spontaneous man based on the actions mentioned in the story.

Another thing I really liked about this story was the fact the son was interviewing his mother and you can tell that they have a good relationship. You hear their tone of voice and laughter and you know they are having a comfortable conversation. It isn't a sad or super serious story like many other stories on StoryCorps but it is still an enjoyable story to listen to. I enjoyed how they spoke about love towards the end and how it ended with the mother explaining love.

I liked this story because it made me smile and laugh along with the story tellers. It was cute, I would describe it as short and sweet.

Story 8- Identity | StoryCorps | Page 2

Identity | StoryCorps | Page 2

This story is about a woman telling her granddaughter about being gay. Its a little weird at first and a bit confusing but it's about MJ falling in love with Genna's real grandmother.

What I admired most about this story was the innocence of the granddaughter. MJ spoke to Genna as if she was an adult, it didn't sound as if she dumbed anything down and I really liked how there was so much honesty.  MJ sounded comfortable and not afraid to talk to Genna. I liked the point in the story when the roles kind of switch and MJ asks  Genna whether she is embarrassed about having a gay grandma.That point in the story is where the listener feels the compassion and  love these two have for one another. I find it adorable how attached they are, yet they aren't even blood related. Genna tells MJ that she is her favorite grandma.

I think it's cute how accepting Genna is. MJ is her grandma and that's all she knows and cares about. In my opinion people can really learn from Genna, she is accepting and doesn't care about the choices MJ has made or who she chooses to love, all she cares about is the person she is. I think a lot of people can learn from this child. I think more people should be like her, less judgmental and ignorant towards peoples choices.  

Story 7- Identity | StoryCorps

Identity | StoryCorps

The reason why I really enjoyed this story was because it builds up. In the beginning despite the description next to the the story, you are given a hint at where the story is headed. It still doesn't give it a way too much though because you still don't know how it might end. She describes her sister growing up and her mother and how she remembered looking through photos and not seeing herself. She says that being adopted just wasn't something families would talk about.  

When she found out that she was adopted her family decided to adopt a child themselves but a child from the tribe she recently found out she was from. What makes this story so powerful  is the way everything worked out for them. They adopted a child that was actually related to her without even knowing. It wasn't planned it just happened and to me it was touching. It was almost like Diane found her missing piece,  she was adopted and didn't know until later in life but she was blessed to end up with someone who is actually blood related to her and that in itself is so touching and  powerful.

The ending is my favorite. I really thought that them speaking to one another and saying how glad they are to be together and whatnot really made the story. It made me feel happy and uplifted. It made my eyes water but not because it was sad.

Story 6- Struggle | StoryCorps | Page 7

Struggle | StoryCorps | Page 7

The story Mary Ellen tells about what she remembers about her grandmother is one  of those shocking stories. She mentions how her grandmother worked for a white woman and you automatically thing you are about to hear another story about slavery. But to me its more than that. Although I know there are worse stories out there the details given in this story help paint a visual of what happened and it makes the listener kind of cringe simply thinking about how painful it was.

Mary Ellen tells the story about the white woman who had gotten rid of some personal belongings such as nail polish and perfume. Now although the items were old and barely usable, Mary Ellen's grandmother found a way to make the items useful. With the nail polish she had reconstructed, she took it into her own hands to beautify her nails and didn't think anything of it.

To her surprise, a white man in line in front of her at the grocery store saw her finger nails and questioned her about it. The shocking part of the story was when Mary Ellen says that the man then took her grandmothers hands and pulled all of her finger nails off one by one.

When I heard that I couldn't help but to cringe as i mentioned before! The thought of that happening is crazy to me and even though i know that stuff happens, its still unbelievable to me. Its disgusting that people like that white man were once able to do what they pleased simply because of their race.

Story 5- Staff Picks | StoryCorps

Staff Picks | StoryCorps

This story Hector told about his daughter's murder was interesting to listen to. One thing I picked I picked up on was how clearly he spoke which made it pleasant to listen to even though the story being told wasn't to pleasant it self.

He touches bases on what happened to his daughter and how him and his wife were so hurt and upset. They hated Ivan( the man who had killed their daughter) for  what he had done and they wanted him dead. When Hector said that he never supported the death penalty or whatnot until Ivan killed his daughter made me believe that they were going to have Ivan killed and punished for what he had done. So much hurt and hate is built up until Hector says he got the opportunity to learn more about Ivan. He said that Ivan was born in a mental hospital and that when he was little he survived tragic things and had witnessed his mother kill his younger sister. Hector and his wife quickly changed their minds.

Although Hector doesn't say why, it is clear that they did not hate nor want Ivan dead anymore because they then understood that Ivan had issues of his own. That did not justify what he had done but Hector couldnt hate a man who suffered from drug abuse and childhood issues, this man was mentaly ill and regaurdless of what he had done, he didnt deserve to be hated.The ending made it worth listening to because the tragic story turned into a story about forgiveness and the details given on how sorry Ivan was made the sadness of the story more insperational to me at least and inspired me to be more forgiving. If people could be forgiving towards people like Ivan the alot of us can be forgiving for the little things we hold grudges about.

Story 4- Romance | StoryCorps | Page 8

Romance | StoryCorps | Page 8

What caught my attention about this story was the small description of it on the page. I thought it would be a cute love story but once it started I kind of drifted from that thought. He goes on by telling what it was like to lose his father and how that affected him. It isn't hard to see that his father was very important to him and the fact that he breaks down and becomes emotional once speaking about him makes the listener feel compassion and sympathy towards him.

The story then takes a turn when he decides to ask his girl friend to marry him! He explains that he is proposing to her with the same ring that his father gave his mother and he then approaches his girl friend leaving the listeners on the edge of they seats waiting to hear what her answer will be. This story turned out to be the cute love story I initially thought it to be after all!

I'm guessing it was a very comfortable environment for him to tell the toughing story of his father which was obviously difficult for him to speak about and that was probably because the interviewer was his girl friend and soon to be wife.Some questions she might have asked were what his location was when he found out about his father or what he felt in the very moment. He might have been asked details about his father that he remembers or how important his father was to him.

Story 3- Romance | StoryCorps

Romance | StoryCorps

Questions that might have been asked:

Why did you stay with Scott?
Were you afraid of what would happen when you told Les?
What did your shildren think?



This story about Les and Scott was actually quit confusing to me at first. I didn't understand what was going on and why Scott would want to switch genders, yet stay with her husband. What made this such an interesting story was the big surprise/ shocking moment which is when you realize that Scott is the female who decided she no longer wanted to be a woman. She felt out of place in her own body and wanted so badly be become a male because that is what made her feel comfortable. She felt she was meant to be a male. I enjoyed how I couldn't tell what was going to happen next, she feared her husband wouldn't want to be with her anymore because of her interest in the opposite gender but instead he took her as she was. To my surprise Les did not care that his wife wanted to become a male, instead he explained why he wanted to be with her. He did not love Scott for her looks, for her physical trats but for the person she was on the inside, for her soul and for her hear and that to me shows love.

Although this is very shocking, I think this makes a powerful story because it is something that we don't always here about. Stories like this seem so unusual and odd, yet so beautiful because it goes to show that there are people out there who love others simply for who they are and no other reason but that.

Story 2- Alzheimer’s & Memory Loss | StoryCorps

Alzheimer’s & Memory Loss | StoryCorps

This audio story is also powerful. What makes it so good is the fact that you can tell the woman’s voice sounds somewhat young and the fact that she is going through her daily routine telling us that she has a note card with her to remind her the date tells us that she has some kind of condition. It is a shocking story actually and it’s interesting to hear because it makes it very easy to understand and to try to place yourself in her shoes. A detail that I picked up on was that she said she cannot remember when she eats and that she sometimes has to write that down also. Imagine having to do that? That to me is crazy because when you think about conditions like the one she has, you automatically relate it with older people and you don’t stop to think that it could really happen to anybody.

 This is a sad story because it tells how her surgery really affected her life and the things she is capable of doing now. Although it is a setback for you, or at least you would think it is, she also mentions how her and her boy friend accomplished running a marathon. That goes to show that she isn’t totally incapable of being normal and doing things that other people are out doing.   What made it more powerful was that the interviewer was her boyfriend. He walked her through it and I liked how the emotions in the story aren’t so heavy and depressing although it is too a sad story.  For me it was kind of a rollercoaster ride with my emotions. At first I felt sad and shocked and I felt bad for her but then I saw that her boy friend was there and that he helps he  no matter how crazy her stories are or what she does and that sense of pity went away. Hearing them both laugh also took away from how serious the interview first was but I wouldn’t say that took away from how powerful it is, it made it all the more powerful in my opinion because it lightened the mood and showed that it doesn’t bring them down. They continue to live their lives.

Story 1 - September 11 | StoryCorps

September 11 | StoryCorps

Over all this is the most powerful audio story I have heard. One of the main things that made it so powerful for me at least, was the fact that the woman was actually on the phone with her husband as he died. They both knew he was not going to make it but they stayed on the phone with one another because they both knew that would be their last conversation. That single detail made the story so compelling. One thing anyone can notice from hearing this audio is that the couple loved each other very, that making it harder to listen to. Another thing that I thought made it a good story was how she mentioned the fact that they were together since they both were only sixteen. It sets a picture in ours heads of how they lived their lives together and loved one another deeply.  It showed how strong their love was.

Hearing this brought tears to my eyes. Her voice and hearing how she somewhat broke down from time to time made it even harder to listen to, yet it was such a strong story that you wanted to continue to listen. I liked how even piece of information given was meaningful to her and her husband. She mentioned what he loved like and how he gave good hugs. She also said how she didn’t want that day to end because it was a day she got to speak to him. I really enjoyed this because it is something that anyone can understand. Anyone can place themselves into her shoes and picture what she went through or how painful it would be if it was someone that meant something to them. This was defiantly the saddest story I have heard and what makes it so powerful is how you can feel both the loves they had for one another, as well as her pain.

The interviewer must have had some really well thought out questions in order to have gotten such a good story out of this woman. I am guessing that they might have asked what her husband was like. When they both met and maybe what she remembers about that last conversation. They might have asked her what came after. What  she did after she knew he was gone.