The Storyteller

When I was six years old I knew exactly what I wanted to be. I wanted to be an Arthur. I meant to say author, But I was six so it was a cute mistake. I don’t remember what made me decide that writing was what I wanted to do (maybe it’s because free will doesn’t exist) but I think it had something to do without Robert Munsch; dude is all kinds of awesome.

I’ve always wanted to create stories.

At first, because of my limited vocabulary (and terrible spelling) I created stories through drawings; Beyblades, Jackie Chan, Super Smash Bros, Mortal Kombat mostly. My drawings were never just of the characters, they were always doing something: someone was fighting. Something was moving. Somebody said this.

Then I fell in love with words. I began to write short stories and poems, I could say or create anything I wanted. Some of the things I wrote fictional, some almost non fiction. It was all about telling my story or the story of someone else.

In high school I got into the art of telling stories with my voice and body through acting. I really enjoyed to interpreting then personifying the characters intentions, but I loved making and being my own character. In improv, I felt the exhilaration of trying (read; succeeding) to make a coherent and entertaining story on the spot with a small team.

In September of 2014, the third year of my university career, I took on two new roles as a story teller.

I recently got a job at the Disney Store (or the most magical place in Scarborough as I like to call it)! As a cast member, I am a part of some people’s experience with the most famous and cherished stories and characters in the world. For guests, making something up and engaging them through a Disney story for a few seconds creates a little bit of magic. Well, maybe not magic, but a quick smile; a quick smile, brief joy and pinch of silliness are close enough. It’s crazy, I’ve seen how everyone has their own personal connection to Disney and how that connection creates a larger connection to other people.

My second new storyteller role is as a photographer/photojournalist. Now that we’re in the third year of my program, we’re at Centennial’s Story Arts Centre and on to the practical stuff. One of the courses is photo imaging, where we’re learning how to use a camera as well as how to use Photoshop. Our teacher told us that as photojournalists-to-be, we have to learn how to see things differently and how to tell stories through pictures. It took me a while to digest the thought fully but I get what he meant, Everything around me has it’s own story and also has the potential to be the subject of another one; I just have to see it then give it shape.

I must admit, I’m really excited about this class, (not so much the Photoshop because that stuff is complicated) but the storytelling through pictures. I’ve always admired good photography and yearned to create some of my own and now I’m learning how to.