Share More Strength

Over the past month, Share More Stories has been featuring stories on Instagram that relate to the topic of strength. The series was titled “Share More Strength,” and was started in hopes to celebrate the diverse cast of authors that contribute to this community and to encourage readers with their testimonies. The three stories that were chosen for this series were not chosen because they were similar in subject matter; in fact, the stories were vastly different in their content and style. The reason they were chosen is because each story brought a different angle of strength into focus. Strength is a word that is commonly used in our everyday lives. Strength can often be associated with physical strength, but as we’ve seen in this series strength can mean so many different things. The authors in this series have shown us that strength isn’t perfection; instead, strength is a result of addressing pain and struggle head-on. These authors have shown us that strength isn’t the attitude that we can do everything on our own or that the problems we see and face every day aren’t actually there. Instead, strength is the ability to hold in one hand with honesty our struggles but in the other, hold hope. Each author found their own way to overcome their struggles and have also each painted their own beautiful picture of what strength is.

I have learned so much from this series. As a writer and a reader, I often question what impact my stories will have. I think too much of being profound or artistic that I often hold myself back from writing authentic stories about my life. This series has taught me the beauty of the practice of sharing my struggles with others, and to not feel like I have to sugarcoat the truth in order to be heard and valued. These stories have shown me that it’s okay to feel pain and see things in my life that I wish weren’t the way they are. Each author’s strength to reclaim beauty internally and externally has given me encouragement that I can do the same in my life. I feel a desire to want to be able to take part in this experience of identifying both places of pain but also reasons for joy; to not feel the expectation to either only talk about pain or only talk about joy. “Share More Strength” has given me a feeling of acceptance and community that combats the fear that I am alone. That’s the beauty of storytelling: when we write, we never imagine that our words will pierce the ears and hearts of readers. We never anticipate impact, we simply write our own truths as an effort to be known and heard. To the authors that have bravely written about their pain, I truly thank you. Your words have shown me an insight into the real meaning of strength and have challenged me to be more willing to open up my heart to those who will listen.

As we enter the holiday season and close out 2018, Share More Stories would like to move from the conclusion of this Instagram series into a season of sharing. “Share More Strength” was a great start to defining strength, but it really was only a start. Strength is found in many places, some more unexpected than others, and unless they are spoken, they will be hidden from us. This effort to define strength is ongoing and takes a diverse group of voices committed to seeking out examples of strength in the world. Share More Stories would like to invite you to participate in this series “Share More Strength.” For the rest of the year, we hope to compile different testimonies and stories of strength from our community, from you. Whether it be an example in your own life or something you’ve noticed in others we want this to be a space for you to share it. Whether on Instagram or on this platform, we encourage you to share your experience with others. After the year ends, we will compile all the stories we receive and curate a unique gallery of all the stories and pictures we receive on this topic of strength. If you would like to be a part of this effort, all you need to do is write a short story on strength on this platform or to post a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #ShareMoreStrength. We want this to be accessible for all: whether you’ve written many times before or you’ve never written before, we want you to feel a part of this series and community. As we enter the new year, we will be able to welcome in 2019 with a gallery highlighting our community and to start off the year with a reminder of strength that exists in each of us. Thank you for being a part of this series and community, and we look forward to reading your stories throughout the next month.