I decided to listen to a story about a girl named Paola who was scared of her family’s reaction of her being lesbian. In this recording, I can hear Paola telling her story, and I can also hear the reactions of the audience in the background. I really appreciated hearing the audience because they sort of encouraged me to laugh along with them at some parts. If I didn’t hear them laughing, I would have been more reluctant to do so myself if that makes sense. Hearing their laughter made me more comfortable laughing myself, which reflects the idea that laughter is contagious. I also noticed that the narrator wasn’t speaking entirely smoothly and that there were some stutters here and there, which I think actually enhances the story. It makes it seem more real and makes it seem like there’s an actual person behind the story.

In terms of the narrative structure of the story, some of it is a straight retelling of “oh this happened,” and some of it includes dialogue and the internal thoughts of the narrator at the time. I liked that the dialogue was included because it’s easier for me to imagine the story having real people with real conversations. The internal thoughts made the story more alive and interesting rather than only having a straightforward recounting of what happened. This reminds me of the distinction we made in class between a memory and a story. A memory is everything you can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste, but a story includes the inner thoughts and feelings of the narrator, which allows the audience to be more immersed in the story.