Hi Adventurers!
Today I wanted to talk a little about a subject that is close to my heart: artists and storytelling. Since childhood, I have spent many years studying and practicing to be an actress, singer, and dancer. And for almost as many years, I have heard people saying that these types of careers, along with a host of other artistic aspirations, are not really worth pursuing. They say that art is mostly entertainment, most people can’t make much money this way, and you may not be as talented as you think you are. Everyone has heard this, and every artist has tried to explain why they are needed. So I’ve decided to throw my hat and the ring and try myself. I won’t explain every reason; that post would never end. But I will try to explain one.
Storytelling accounts for most of the communicating that any of us will ever do in life. It’s part of who we are, and we cannot function without it.
When you meet up with a friend for coffee, one of the first things you will probably do is tell them a story. “Girl, the drive over was crazy. The guy in front of me must have been drunk because he stopped so suddenly…” And you will probably receive a story from them. In fact if you think about it, you’ll notice that most of your time spent with family and friends (or coworkers, or your doctor, etc.) is taken up by sharing and receiving stories. I recently had a phone call with a friend that generally went like this:
-Greetings
-My story of what happened that morning
-Her story of what happened that morning
-Her questioning why I was upset
-My story of what happened at work
-My asking about her holidays
-Her story of how her family was ill over the holidays
-You get the idea
You probably haven’t gone a day without sharing a story with someone, whether it’s chatting about a hot date you had the night before, complaining to your boss about your coworker, or sharing a glimpse of your childhood with your child. It’s human nature.
So, okay. We know that story is part of everyday life and we participate in it all the time. Why does that mean that we need professional storytellers? If we do it without even thinking about it then we don’t need any help. Well, let’s look at another aspect of life that is just as natural and commonplace – eating. Everyone eats all day long, every day. We all know how to do it after a certain age, and we don’t need any help.
But as of 2020, 42.4% of America (where I live) is obese, and we’re not the only country with this kind of problem. Many adults don’t know how much to eat, how often, what to eat, where to get the best ingredients (or even how to tell if an ingredient is good), and how to put those ingredients together safely and tastily. And even if they know some of these things, they may not know the importance of cultivating family mealtime and traditions. They may lose interest in what they know how to cook because their recipe books are limited. Or they may lack an understanding of healthy digestion. And on and on and on. We know how to eat, but we don’t know, and even what we do know can be improved upon for a better life.
So professionals are vital. Nutritionists teach us a balanced diet and show us how to understand our own dietary needs. Therapists help us clarify our relationship to food and help us learn how to eat for the right reasons. And chefs teach us how to prepare food well and get the most out of every ingredient, as well as exposing us to the wonderful foods from around the world. That’s all on top of giving us that fully nurturing gift of cooking for us themselves.
And it’s the same with story. We know how to tell stories, but we don’t. We witnessed damaging communication from our parents when we were kids. We take to lying or gossiping – two of the worst forms of storytelling there are. We share something with someone or they share with us, but it goes misunderstood. And on and on and on.
We need what artists have spent their lives cultivating – good storytelling skills. Writers teach us how to choose our words carefully, which comes in handy when you need to get your point across without hurting someone or make a big presentation at school. The expose us to other worlds, other times, and other lives, giving us a fuller understanding of our own world. And writers are not the only storytellers who help us. Actors show us that what is really being said behind the words is as important as (if not more important than) the words themselves, so we can see past them in an argument and get to the heart of the matter. They, along with musicians and dancers, teach us to listen fully and respond well, and dancers model for us how story is communicated through our whole body. Honestly, there are so many more ways that artists teach us, but then this post would never end. And of course, they satisfy our hunger for entertainment and experience by treating us to their work.
I cannot believe that I just wrote all that. I absolutely hated writing papers in college and repeatedly said that I would rather stab myself in the eye than write a paper. I guess times change.
So hopefully I’ve convinced you that I had good reason to spend all those years studying. Tell me what you think! Have I over-inflated the importance of artists in the world, or has our society underappreciated them this whole time? Or is it neither? Let me know in the comments below, or if you want, reach out to me here:
Email: chat@nookandbook.com
Twitter: @TheNookAndBook
Instagram: @nook.and.book
Se ya back in the nook! – Cozie