While I read Julie Beck’s Life’s Stories, I had a tough time staying on track. Her article was definitely interesting, but very lengthy. I found it interesting that she dove right into the fact that people are pretty extravagant when it comes to telling their life stories. Beck says that, “People contain multitudes, and by multitudes, I mean libraries” in reference to facts the can say to make their lives seem so amazing to others when they meet new people.

It didn’t shock me because I’ve heard this before, but when Beck mentions the use of storytelling to make sense of the world, it just makes sense. Fairy tales, then and now, always revolve around happiness and things working out perfectly. Isn’t that what everyone wants? I know I wish I had a perfect, happy life, but it’s life and it changes every day. When people use fairy tales, it’s their way of escaping the reality of their lives and being who or what they want to be. The way Beck explained this made perfect sense. She says how, “the only material we’ve ever had to make stories out of is our imagination, and life itself.” She’s right. As kids, we’re told these amazing stories, but in life, we rarely experience amazing things.

Another big thing Beck hit was that of storytelling and relationships. Beck has a great point when she says that, “In order to have relationships, we’ve all had to tell little pieces of our story.” If you’re in a relationship, whether it’s a friendship or romantic relationship, you tell the other person about you. In close-net relationships, the other person knows your secrets, how you feel about things and intimate details of your life. I believe that if you aren’t able to open up about yourself and tell someone your life story, you aren’t ready for a relationship. Relationships are about a balance in trust and openness and how I see them, there shouldn’t be a relationship based off of false pretenses. Life stories can be anything, as long as they’re true to who you are and how you believe you should be seen.