StoryCorps

Saturday was a good day. It was one of those days that you tuck away in your mind and remember always. I have boxes (photo boxes, shoe boxes, gift boxes) that line the closets of my home. Don't turn me in to the TV show Hoarders. They are filled with letters, cards, keepsakes and things that help me remeber people or certain times in my life. Saturday was the type of day that I will put in my mental keepsake box.

Eli, Sam and I had the opportunity to participate in a StoryCorps interview. "Story Corps is an independent non-profit whose mission it is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives." It is an oral storytelling project. Story Corps has been operating since 2003 and has recorded more than 30,000 interviews. It is broadcasted weekly on NPR's Morning Edition. 1% of StoryCorps interviews that are recorded are played on NPR. A friend of mine invited me to participate and to invite a couple of the youth as well. We were invited to have a conversation about our friendship, our youth group and the lives of the youth. I was the interviewer and Sam and Eli were the interviewees. They are members of the youth group, neighbors and friends. They are both high school students.

The recording studio was a trailer parked outside the Lexington Farmer's Market. We arrived Saturday morning and each of us was a little nervous. I selected some questions to ask the youth from StoryCorps database and then came up with some on my own. I asked about 20 questions total. Here are a few I asked:

What are you most proud of?
What does your future hold?
What makes us such good friends?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
What makes our weekly neighborhood Ultimate Frisbee games so awesome?
Who is the most important person in your life?
Who has had the biggest influence in your life?
How would you describe our youth group?
What are the challenges about being in a multiculural youth group?
How would you describe your faith?
What is something you have been learning spiritually?

I was in awe of Eli and Sam. I already knew they were incredible. I have known it for years, but I was hit in such a profound way by their eloquence, honesty and their insight. Eli is 15 and Sam is 16. Both youth have such incredible stories and have overcome so much adversity in their young lives. Each of them shared things in the conversation that I did not know before. I was grateful to learn more about their stories. I normally see Eli and Sam 5 days a week, but so often, in the busyness of life we don't stop to ask questions and to listen.

I felt honored that my friend considered the work with the youth something noteworthy, something others may want to hear and something that should be presevered. Thanks, Jodie. I am not exaggerating when I say that the interview was magical. The youth were beaming throughout the interview and were proud to share their stories. I think in the process they realized that they truly did have something to say. They also gave us a copy of the interview to keep and remember.

I did the interviewing, but I answered one of the questions that I asked. What are you most proud of? The truth is, as I look at my life, I am most proud of being a youth leader to The Rock Youth. Hands down.

After the interview we met John at Joe Bolgna's for pizza. The food was good and the company was better. A lot of laughter and reminisicing. Also, we may or may not have pretended that it was Eli's birthday and got free cake. Don't ask me whose idea that was.

PS-If our interview is selected and appears on NPR, I'll be sure to let ya'll know.