Julie Beck’s article “Life’s Stories” was an extremely interesting piece to read. There were numerous places I had to stop and think for a moment, as some topics seemed obvious but I had never really thought of them. For example, she writes, “In the realm of narrative psychology, a person’s life story is not a Wikipedia biography of the facts and events of a life, but rather the way a person integrates those facts and events internally– picks them apart and weaves them back together to make meaning.” We often say that our past defines us, but really its how we interpret our past experiences that build us into the people we are today. This may seem obvious after reading, but to see the feeling being described in words adds a whole new meaning. Life continues to move forward and its how we grow from what we’ve experienced that makes us into the people we are today. She also writes, “People take the stories that surround them– fictional tales, news articles, apocryphal family anecdotes– then identify with them and borrow from them while fashioning their own self-conceptions.” I thought this to be very interesting, especially because I think it is very prevalent today. Though the examples she gives are also true, I think technology can also be added to the list. I feel as if technology also adds pressure to the younger generation as it reflects society’s preferred personality, which many youths perceive as the standard. Technology provides for a way to speak of and read many different opinions, but I also see it as something that pushes an expectation onto younger audiences. Another idea that I thought was interesting was when Beck brought up the idea of the progression from “actor” to “agent” and then finally “author.” I thought these metaphors were very interesting and a great way of explaining her point. Each one of us has many roles, whether they be voluntary or involuntary, that we must execute. But it is from these roles that we learn, dream, and reflect from.
I also agree with a lot of the things that you wrote! I think that our experiences do have a large role in what defines us but it is ultimately what we do with those experiences that shape us. You touched on a good point about technology, I didn’t even think about technology while I was reading this article but it definitely has an effect on the adolescent mind.
Hi, I really like how you introduce technology and your opinion towards it. This really shows how engaged and how much you understood the text. When you talk about the feeling being described in words really stood out to me. I like how well you connected the text with your own understanding. Good job!
One aspect your brought up that I never even thought about was how technology plays a role in telling our stories. I think this is a key point and great that youy mentioned it since technology does play such a large role in everyday life. Becks essay would definitley benefit from including this topic.
I think it’s super smart that you introduced the topic of technology into the conversation of how we tell stories. The influence technology has on us cannot be understated! I encourage you to continue to work on including marginal notes in your annotations. The habit can take a while to build, but it’s ultimately rewarding.