Pearl Lorentzen
Stories are integral to my life. I have always had an active imagination and been drawn to hearing or watching stories.
Two things this week made me think about stories. My friends at Slave Lake Writers’ Group gave me some feedback on some poems I had written.
Second, May 1-7 is Mental Health Week, and the theme is ‘My Story.’
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) says, “This year’s theme, ‘My Story,’ aims to shine a spotlight on community mental health care champions, programs and communities while showcasing the importance of securing universal mental health care. We all have mental health which means we all have different, yet equally valuable stories to share. Let’s harness the power of storytelling to build connections and understanding.”
This got me reflecting on my story as it relates to storytelling and reading.
As a young child, I valued books but had a lot of trouble learning how to read. I was in Grade 4 and a straight A student, but could barely read. Then I started homeschooling, which for me removed all of the barriers to learning. I went from not being able to read in September to reading at a Grade 7 level by Christmas.
I was hooked!
There are four basic learning styles: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading and writing learners. I am a kinesthetic learner. I learn by doing, often through trial and error. My weakest type is auditory.
As an adult, I’ve learned that if I take extensive notes from a lecture, I can learn a lot, but as a child that didn’t compute. I am easily distracted, especially by sounds, so sitting in a classroom with small children fidgeting and trying to understand verbal instructions was very difficult for me. I was also painfully shy as a child, which added another level of discomfort.
Even now, if something is difficult to learn, I learn it better on my own. For example, I don’t understand a crochet pattern until I have to crochet a small patch of it. The written pattern might as well be hieroglyphics until I start doing what it says.
There have been several moments in my life where things which were a mystery suddenly made sense, as if by magic. It feels like a light bulb moment from a cartoon. This happened with taking tests. Throughout school, I was told thousands of times that I could skip questions that I didn’t understand and go back to them and other tips, but I couldn’t do it. Then in my early 20s, I could ace tests.
Of course, reality is probably different than what I remember. The years of wrestling with the problem and persevering despite not understanding led to the ‘ah-ha’ moment. I was learning the whole time. If I had given up, I would have never figured it out.
This is one of the reasons I value perseverance. However, I think timing is also important. My mind just wasn’t ready and trying to force it didn’t help.
When I started homeschooling, my mom removed the pressure to read. It was up to me if I wanted to do it. This lessened the frustration and shame of not understanding. I was able to put the pieces into place.
If I hadn’t learned how to read, a career in writing would have been impossible. Though I may have pursued another type of storytelling.
I encourage everyone to reflect on hard-won things in life and ask what they learned.