StoryCorps

Recently in class we have been listening and talking about interviews and now we are in the midst of conducting our own interviews. Mr. Bolos suggested that we visit Storycorps.com, a website that contains different types of audio interviews.  I decided to listen to a few that pertained to 9/11, which we were discussing in class at the time. After listening to only one, I found myself bawling in front of the computer screen (I highly suggest you have tissues in hand if you decide to listen to some of them). Interestingly enough, when I decided to listen to interviews that were about seemingly normal relationships or experiences, I was equally captivated. Sure, the stories about getting sent to the principals office didn't evoke the same emotion as the story of a woman who was talked on the phone with her husband as he died in the World Trade Center. Somehow, each story was evenly intriguing. Somehow, the everyday occurrences seemed so important and were easy to get caught up in.

It might be credited to the fact that people love to talk about themselves and tell their stories. I believe it's much more fun telling a story about yourself than the story of someone else. Because of this, I feel like people put  much more passion into their interviews. They have the sentimental value attached to this story, even if it was simply a father talking to his daughter about how he met his wife. It is the importance that the interviewee puts behind their story that translates effortlessly to the listener. Or is it that the stories are easier to relate to? Personally I find stories about people who had a parent battling cancer only because I've been there myself. Its easier to listen to interviews between parents and children because I likewise have a relationship with my parents that I can compare the stories to. Fortunately, I did not have to experience 9/11. So as heart-wrenching as the stories may be, I have few experiences in my life that could possibly help me relate.