One Native Life: Young Storyteller Overcame His Shyness
- Richard Wagamese | November 12, 2013
But whatever it is, I always come away feeling as though the students gave me a while lot more than I gave them. It's fascinating because it’s not in the rapport we share during the presentation or workshop – it's what's shared in private after. Once the class is over there are always a handful of students who stick around. Sometimes they want books signed or they have a question they may have been too shy to ask in class. But sometimes, they have a story they can't wait to tell me.
Just recently a young man came up to me after a presentation I gave on the power of story to empower us, connect us to the process of our own lives and teach us more than we sometimes expect. I'd shared a lot of personal stuff. Not only because they make the best stories in the end, but because students really like to hear adults speak openly about themselves. The kids that day really appreciated my honesty. This kid walked up shyly and shook my hand.
"I liked the story you shared about your grandfather," he said. "It reminded me a lot of my own grandfather and I'd like to share one of my stories with you."
He started to talk and I could see how much this story mattered to him, how much he treasured it and how much he really wanted to tell it. He was shy at first but gradually opened up to the story and it was fascinating to watch it happen.
His grandfather was his best friend. His father had died when he was very young and his grandfather stepped in to fill that void in his life. They did everything together. This young man could not look back at any significant moment in his life and not see his grandfather there. He’d always told him stories. Those stories were about his own life, the places he’d traveled to, the people he’d met and all of the lessons that he had learned. It was clear they had loved each other very much.
The young man learned a lot from him. He'd learned to fish and hunt, to carve wood and how to take care of his home and the people in it. When his grandfather passed away the young man was as lonely as he'd ever felt. But he chose to hang on to his grandfather's last words to him. "I will always be looking out for you." That’s what he had said.
One day while walking home from school a car swerved out of control and came up over the sidewalk. He was only yards from his house. He’d looked up to see the car careening toward him and thought he was done for. He couldn't move. It hit him and he flew for about ten yards. But he landed on the grass of a neighbor's yard and suffered only scratches. The car came to a stop against a hydro pole and there was a lot of frenzied activity.
But his step-father knelt down in front of him and looked deep into his eyes. "I saw a flash of light just when that car hit you," he said. "It was brilliant like an explosion."
That young man believes that flash of light was his grandfather keeping his promise and so do I. The look in his eyes, the tears at their corners, told me how much this story meant to him and it touched me greatly. It took a lot of courage to share a private and personal tale like that. When we shook hands and hugged I could feel his energy and I know that he could feel mine. He walked away, shy once again and I smiled.
The most amazing thing about that story was his total lack of embarrassment at sharing it with me. In those moments he was the adult and I was the child. We should all share personal stories like that. It would be a better world if we could. That's what I learned from him.