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I'm a writer, but in my 20's I spent many years resisting the urge to write stories, for fear of what people would think of me, and it was only 4 years ago that I thought about writing stories again. Recently, I was asked to write a children's play, and it reminded me of my own childhood and how grateful I am for what stories DID for me. Growing up, I had 14 major operations, and 2 near fatal incidents which required me to spend a lot time in hospital in recovery. Consequently, I've spent a sizeable portion of my life in bed.:p (I know what you're thinking
Living the dream :p). Well, it's true that I like my sleep as much as the next person. But aside from being in a lot of pain,when you cant move out of bed even though you want to, it can be feel very restrictive. The doctors would give me morphine and injections and stuff, but that wasn't what rescued me. What rescued me, was stories. You see, I had this
AMAZING great Granddad (I called him my Gar Gar). He would come in the hospital
every day, and when I was in in pain, I would squeeze his hand to let him know, and immediately he would start telling me stories.
Incredible stories! I don't know where his imagination came from! As I closed my eyes and focus the hundreds of amazing tales he would tell me, suddenly I wasn't Nadia in the hospital bed, I was an explorer travelling half way across the world to meet unknown civilisations with funny names, or a Princess in ancient Egypt with a court at my command, or my personal favourite, She-Ra's KICK ASS daughter. :p
Not only did his stories feed my imagination, but it made me realise how powerful the imagination is. As I imagined myself going on the adventures he described, I felt as if I was no longer in pain, no longer unable to move; as I listened to his stories I could go anywhere, do anything. And it was through these stories that I began to realise that I was more than my body, more than my limitations, more than my disability. So each time the doctor's told me and Mum that would take me another 6 months to get back up on my crutches, if at all, I knew that I was going to prove them wrong, because I was
more than my physical disability. And later when I was told that wouldn't get into mainstream primary school, I knew I would prove them wrong, because I was more than my disability. And when I got into secondary school, and they said I wouldn't last the first year, I knew I would prove them wrong. That all started with Granddad's stories.
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Through events of teenage years, I lost faith in a lot of things, including myself - but I never lost faith in stories. I began to write lots and lots as a teen; it helped me get pain onto paper, so that I didn't have to carry it round with me everyday. Very recently, I've found that writing a blog every week, gives me confidence, and is helping me to come out of my shell again. And today I truly feel that the telling of stories, whether you do it through writing, acting, drawing, singing, dancing is more than entertainment, it's a way to heal ourselves. And I would encourage anyone to do it. If you can find a way to tell your story and share it with others, then great - because your own story will help others. But if not, do it for yourself anyway; write yourself a personal poem, doesn't matter if it rhymes. Dance your feelings round your living room, put your story to a tune and sing it in the shower, draw a scene from your life using stick men -it doesn't matter how you do it, just feel free to do it At the end of the day, this is just a humble writer's opinion, but personally, I really feel that expressing your own soul's stories helps to release it from pain, gain confidence, and empower us to live life beyond limitation. So if the feeling grabs you, honour it- and don't let fear hold you back!
Text written and posted by Nadia O'Connell
