Narrative 4's Poly Visit

 I have been impressed by the Narrative4 organization since my first story exchange facilitator training. They're mission, programs, and advertised results are truly remarkable.

    After hearing the representatives speak last Monday, I believe that the organization has had the impact that they say it has because of the people running the programs. The woman from Mexico seemed so passionate about her various projects and truly believed in the work she was doing. 

    I also found that the representatives, and the girl on Zoom, displayed an amount of empathy that I think is uncommon. While the woman from Mexico shared her personal story, it looked as if she really spoke from her heart. And, after the event was over, she hugged Willa and seemed so grateful to be there. I imagine that she's heard a number of experiences, both those similar to her own and far from it. I bet that hearing those experiences through story exchange, and simply participating in multiple story exchanges, is what allows her to hold so much empathy with little thought. I will say, though, that I only observed the women on a stage, so I may be way off in my assessment!

    My last memorable takeaway were the words of the poem that was read. Aside from the beautiful introduction, I knew very little about the panelists. I thought that the poem was a remarkable way to share personal experiences with the group. It's personal in the sense that it's an art form and written, obviously, by the person themself. Yet, hiding personal experiences under a poem creates a certain distance from the audience, too. Regardless, it was a beautiful poem that also reinforced the value of verbally sharing stories. 

    Ms. Diederich raves about N4 to the Global Scholars and Poly students. However, after hearing the panelists, I understand the hype more!