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Listen to this
David Copperfield, in the very first line of the Dickens book, wonders "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life ..." Few of the young people we work with would consider themselves to be heroes in their lives – chiefly because other people and circumstances have exerted the major influences which they have been subject to. The family members will say that "things got on top of them" or that they "started off with a minus score".
And yet, when a group of kids is shooting the breeze, most have stories to add and can hold the floor from time to time – telling of their own adventures and escapades, coincidences and romances, laughs and tears. And all of those stories, whether literal or just fancies, are the chronicle of the life of the hero. Our interest is not in whether the stories are true or not; it is just to listen, and to facilitate the telling. We are hearing about remembered times, about relationships and identifications, about enjoyed moments and scary things.
When we acknowledge and receive all these, we affirm the youth’s valued and significant experiences, the belonging and cameraderie felt at times with friends and family – and, important, the young person's capacity for storytelling and sharing with the group.
Today in our practice, we listen to stories – whether they happen spontaneously in groups or we have to tease them out in one-on-one sessions. This way we all get to understand each other better, and the youngsters themselves fill out their life stories and get their own ducks in a row.
