The power of storytelling

The power of storytelling

   I came to understand the power of storytelling and the vision it brings to her lecture The Politics of Fiction by bestselling author Elif Shafak.

  She was born in Strasburg, France to parents of Turkish immigrant origin. She then goes back to Turkey to spend her childhood with her mother, who she divorced and became single. At that time, Turkey was a patriarchal and conservative country, so a single mother who was enlightened and westernized was a very unusual case.

  Her mother encouraged her to keep her daily diary for fear she would be struggling. Instead of writing her own story, she spent her childhood writing the stories of others, the stories she imagined. And the one who had her decisive influence on her grandmother . She Influenced by her grandmother, who drew her circles and treated dermatological patients through witchcraft, she has her faith in her circles. She can't forget her memories of attending her international school, especially after her mother, who became her diplomat, left her hometown and moved to another area. It was like a miniature UN, she recalls. There were always conflicts and problems.

  I think that her power to making her story her consistently since her childhood. Circles surround a thick wall, and we hit that wall ourselves and live. But we can make a small hole here. And you can see what's out there. Storytelling prevents us from becoming narrow-minded and trapped by so many stereotypes by our nature to seek out ourselves or our likeness. At least you can observe your opponent through a small hole. And she likens storytelling to a compass. I often want to use this analogy too, because it's a very appropriate metaphor.

  Storytelling helps you become more aware of who you are. In other words, it is as if one axis of the compass is firmly embedded. But through storytelling, you perceive the outside world as if you were looking through a hole in the wall. That is, the other side of the compass is slowly turning in a circle. And it becomes a nice circle that resolves conflicts and truly brings everyone together. Buddhism also has this idea, and I think talker Elif Shafak has described the power of storytelling nicely by comparing it to a compass.

  Like her, I also hope that I will be able to live in the United States from my immigrant origin and maintain my identity while at the same time integrating well into a society of countless people from different backgrounds and furthermore, having a good influence like a large circle. And when I realized this is the power of storytelling, I also discovered the vision that I must constantly tell my story.