According to Snapchat memories, this time a year ago I was spending the daytime walking with friends through campus, admiring the scenery and weather which was perfect with just the right amount of sunlight and warmth. In the evenings, I was hanging out with other friends, socializing, and practicing one of my favorite hobbies: storytelling and story sharing.

I personally believe there is reverence and validation in owning who you are and sharing that with others. I enjoy talking to people and getting to know them. This social trait of mine has followed me throughout my undergraduate career, especially during my time as an international student. When I was studying abroad in Mexico City, I could not help but want to learn about the capital city of Mexico as much as I could. I was experiencing Mexico City for myself, but I wanted to understand it through the lens and lived-experiences of folks from the area. As a U.S. citizen, I was completely living a different life in Mexico City. It was great, really, but I knew it was only so authentic because I had the support of my undergrad institution. I wanted my time in Mexico to be so much more meaningful. I wanted to develop a deeper relationship with Mexico City, a place I yearned to be as a child and then young adult, and knew I could materialize this by getting to know people through storytelling and story sharing. During my time abroad, I went so far as to try to host a sustainability club to help create the space for this to happen. This was supposed to take form as a gardening and composting club, and as a space where fellow U.S. students and either local community members or students would regularly tend to different plants and compost. I had the idea that this space would also allow us to practice both our English and Spanish in a natural way. Sadly, that did not fully happen but I did end up finding a community space in other artistic and lively areas of Mexico City where I was able to engage in storytelling and story sharing.

I share all of this because as distance learning continues, I want to find ways to create more storytelling and story sharing spaces while we navigate life during a pandemic. Being able to leave your personal living space, whether that be a university housing unit, off-campus apartment, or your family’s home, grants us opportunities to meet so many people and not necessarily by choice. We simply just have to interact with so many others as students. Now that we’re at home for most if not all of the day, we can’t really engage with so many other people. This may not be such a critical time for university students (assuming most are at least or near 18 and older), but for younger children, these are very important development years.

Does anyone have any ideas of what I could possibly try to do? I know zoom fatigue is a thing so I am open to any and all considerations. This is also not any rushed effort. I just want to try to engage with others, especially students, in a way that is both creative, soothing, and encouraging. 🙂