What Story Works Means to Me: An Illustration

Katherine Paredes joined the Forum in June as the Story Works Lead Teaching Fellow. We asked Katherine, who did Story Works as a West High School student and has drawn since she was a child, to illustrate her connection to the program and then walk us through the illustration.

Katherine, why did you draw three people?

It’s like a team… three people that didn’t know about each other before. I was very shy when I was in high school and usually I wasn’t the one to go out of my way to talk to people. To me it seems like Story Works gets that out of the way. I actually met my best friend in high school because of Story Works. In my sophomore year, we met in our English class and we were both so so shy and then we got teamed up in a table group to practice telling our stories. It was crazy because I remember when she told me her story it was really insane and I thought, you seemed so shy to me but you have such a crazy story that is similar to mine! So we became really good friends after that. I think it really can build relationships.

What are on their heads?

I thought there should be funny hats to represent how, for example, these are all different foods but they’re all related because they’re all foods. So although they look different, ultimately they’re all the same. All our stories are really different, but at the same time they are the same - they bring up similar feelings from the experiences we share about. Two totally different experiences could bring up the same feeling for two people and connect them. That’s also why there are hearts - they are all connecting.

All our stories are really different, but at the same time they are the same - they bring up similar feelings from the experiences we share about.

Tell me about the expressions on their faces.

I think it’s the reality - when it comes to sharing about yourself, some people are so open and don’t mind talking about themselves. Some people can describe themselves as an open book and they can talk and talk. And some people definitely have a harder time - maybe they think their lives aren’t interesting enough, they’re embarrassed, they’re just shy. So I wanted to show that it’s all normal, and it’s not necessarily something that’s easy for everyone.