Let 2015 Be The Year.... Challenge #1

I created a Facebook group for my family to encourage them to tell their story and to start journaling. This was spurred by my cousin's desire to see her daughter start writing in her journal. So I did a video message to her to hopefully encourage her to start the tradition of writing.




Most Pacific Island cultures - I'm Hawaiian and Samoan - have a deep emphasis on the art of storytelling. I can remember being a young child and my mother sitting me down to memorize a speech for church. Having that type of background has truly given me a high standard to which I apply to any speaker that I sit to listen. I find that I am very impatient with speakers that read to me. If you did not prepare to deliver a message from your gut then you are not prepared and my ears and heart are closed to you.

Speaking, storytelling, painstakingly preserving your genealogy in chant are part of my culture. I find these things so very compelling now as I knock on my 40th birthday door. I want so very deeply to inspire others and assist them in telling their story and finding their roots. Come along for the ride, if you dare.

I would recommend you purchase a diary or journal and that you hand write in cursive. This is so important to the human mind. It constantly nourishes our brain. Do a simple google search "human development cursive" and read up about this topic. But if the thought of having to cursive write everyday puts you off then I suppose you can keyboard it in MSword or some online journal.

Challenge #1 is to write one post per week in the month of January. I will post four questions. These questions are meant to get your brain thinking about the story that you will tell. You can also all four questions, one per week or one question every week. You could even use one of these questions every day if you feel like writing beyond the one entry per week challenge. You will be surprised where one question will take you and all the memories and thoughts that will come forward. Capture it. Preserve it. Go back and read it. Share it.

REMEMBER
-No one is going to read your journal without your permission and if they do then they're EVIL.
-Be honest!
-Speak your truth.
-Let it out; whether it's gut-busting laughter or die-ugly-cry-face.
-Write down whatever comes to mind.
-I will post my entry so you have an example. Maybe you might be inspired by my quirky thought process and how it translates to the written word.

Here are January's questions:

1. What is your favorite thing about winter?
2. Who is the funniest person you know?
3. Who are your siblings?
4. What are your plans for today?

HAPPY WRITING!