Author: Kristine Nguyen Page 1 of 4

The tour happened a lot smoother than I thought it would and I also enjoyed it a lot more too. I could tell that our story partners from the detention center were happy and excited to be on campus. Even just watching them take photos in front of Queally, the lake, and other places was heartwarming to watch. I think we take all of this for granted sometimes. It is such a beautiful campus, which is amplified by the fact that they are secluded in the same building for so long. Nowadays, I walk past the lake without much of a second glance, but I know it must have been breathtaking for them. I also noticed how engaged and interested they were in the Book Arts Studio making their booklets. I wasn’t sure if this would be something they’d enjoy, but it seemed like they genuinely did like the arts and crafts aspect of the activity. Plus, it gave them another chance to share their stories.

When we handed out the booklets of everyone’s stories, my story partner and another were looking through it and seemed proud of their own stories being inside it. I guess seeing it in such an official-looking document was a great feeling for them. It was nice to watch them play basketball and just be teenagers, which is also something I think we all take for granted. I had a conversation with one of them and he asked me what I was majoring in, and then I asked him what he’s interested in. He dove into a deep discussion about real estate and housing facts that I had a hard time following. But it gives me joy to know that he’s so passionate about something when I myself am having a hard time narrowing down my passions. It was surreal to see them on campus, but it was so nice watching them thrive in this new environment and it gives me hope for what comes next for them.

Today was the last day visiting the detention center before they get to come to campus. I talked with my story partner about spring memories, such as seeing the cherry blossoms in DC, learning how to ride a bike, and playing at the playground with my sister. In return, he told me how he always liked being outside during spring, even when it was raining. He loved playing football with his nephews and going to a local park to do so. I think the effect of telling these stories was feeling nostalgic for those good times. I know that he definitely smiled telling me those stories about being outside when it was warm during springtime.

Our storytelling then devolved into conversations about our favorite snacks, breakfast items, etc. He also asked me questions about the UR campus, which were unsurprisingly about sports facilities. Eventually, we joined two other pairs and everyone was talking about sports pretty much, which honestly isn’t my thing but I followed the conversation. When some of the guys reflected on storytelling at the end, I was moved when they said things like how it made them feel proud or just seeing their stories typed up felt cool. I noticed that the atmosphere felt very sincere when they said these things, and the energy was heightened even when we joined as a bigger group to talk. I wonder if they’ve ever been to places outside of the typical Richmond neighborhoods, as I think the trip to UR will be many of their first experiences in a place like this. I just hope they enjoy their time here because it really is beautiful. I was shocked upon coming here but I’m sure it’ll be even more wonderful for them after being at the detention center.

Today my story partner didn’t really have a concrete story in mind but he did talk to me about his favorite music being rap music even though he doesn’t listen to music much. But I told my story about my dad playing ABBA on the car radio on grocery store trips when I was a kid. He even decided to ask me to read his story I typed up out loud. I noticed he asked me first because I think he wanted to avoid talking about his literacy. He also said his handwriting was sloppy to maybe avoid saying anything about his writing skills. So I offered to write his story for him if he draws and colors to accompany the words in his story. He also drew out an entire football field and players on paper to show me how it would look and I gave him ideas.

I noticed more fidgeting this time around and when I tried to lean in to hear him he unconsciously moved his chair back gradually. I think he wanted space which I understand but I have a hard time hearing people when the room is loud and also my voice isn’t that loud to begin with. It’s still a bit hard for me to make conversation and carry that conversation so I let him ask me some questions about college and I answered them. I think it’ll be better once we have something tangible to work on like the storybook. But I think he is excited to work on his story drawings and was happy when I offered to write his story out for him.

Today, I was paired with the same person as last week but just by myself. What I noticed was that after I told my story, which was about falling on the school playground and hurting my knee, followed by my friend helping me, my story partner told me a very similar story of him falling and hurting his knee while playing football at school. He talked about how he and his friend got into a fight playing football and then later when he got hurt, his friend helped him and they made up. I found it interesting that both of our stories had to do with knee injuries while playing outside during school, and that both of our friends helped us. Both stories took place when we were in elementary school too. I think the effect of telling these stories was that it took us to a conversation about drifting apart from childhood friends and the power of friendship itself. For the second story, we each talked about our happy places being at home and spending time with family, especially watching movies and just hanging out.

When we didn’t talk about stories, we went on tangents about what we like to do with our families outside the home. My partner told me he and his family would go out to eat, go bowling, see movies, etc. I talked about how I liked going to the mall with my mom and sister. We also talked about riding bikes because that came up and we both acknowledged how scary it is to ride bikes downhill. And we bonded over being close with our sisters. I did notice that he was fidgeting again this session. He instinctively grabbed a nearby book at the desk and started flipping pages randomly, but I think this was just a way for him to focus on telling his story. It’s like an outlet like the way we play with stress toys for example. I noticed that it was a bit harder to carry the conversation by myself since I’m not very good at it, but I appreciated it when my partner did a lot of the talking answering my questions. He was also helpful retelling his favorite story so I could write it down on paper and listened to when I retold it to make sure it was accurate. At the end, I was happy when another person sitting at the same table reached out shook my hand, and then my story partner did too. It was a nice little farewell until next week.

While I was a bit sad I wouldn’t get to work with the girls again, I could tell that the Post D kids were also willing to share stories with us, which I was grateful for. Nick J and I paired up with one person who was really excited to tell stories about his family, his interest in cars and being a mechanic, and the ambitions he has for a man cave in the future. I think telling these stories really animated our story partner since he got excited about the idea of being a mechanic and having his own business. It’s like what that one person said about speaking the future into existence. I think he was happy talking about a future that could be his later. He respectfully listened to my stories and when I brought up the task of working out for my first story, he launched into a discussion about how he hates doing push-ups and prefers running. I think I had a bit of trouble connecting with him on my own because we have different interests, but he and Nick got along well with me interjecting here and there. Also, we didn’t really follow the storytelling model as well (listeners didn’t tell it back), but we just went with the flow of the conversation, which I think worked better in this situation.

Other than the stories, we talked about our favorite characters with superpowers since it came up during the prompt on superpowers. We also talked about car models we like since it came up when our partner told his dream story. I noticed that our partner’s body language was respectful when we told stories, but he kind of fidgeted a bit when telling his, and he was always moving around. I noticed that he also was interested in college, just like the girls I was with last week. All these kids seem to have future ambitions they’ve been thinking about for a while. I was wondering how the whole going to campus thing might go if we get the chance to do it. While I preferred connecting with the girls because we have more in common, I’ll settle for any situation because I know that we just have to work with what we’ve got.

The first thing I noticed when pulling up was the court building next to the detention center, which we were told was connected so that’s how I knew we had arrived. I was a bit surprised at how we needed permission to enter each doorway we came across. While the atmosphere made it clear it was a detention center, I liked how there was art and paint on the walls and doors which made it feel less so. The staff were friendly but when it came time to separate me, the only girl, from everyone else, I was a bit nervous. I entered a classroom with three girls and was immediately unsure what to do. I sat down feeling out of my depth but tried my best to smile. I was definitely thrown for a loop because being separated was not in our expectations for how this would go.

I talked with one girl who I had a good time chatting with. At first we didn’t even talk about stories, but our interests and college life. She was very curious about college life and my major. We had an animate discussion about books because we both love reading. We both like sci-fi and talked about some of that genre. I can tell she loves learning and she told me about her ambitions for college. When we did talk about stories, she followed the storytelling model perfectly. I went first and talked about something hard I did for the first time, which was working out. She followed up with a story about roller blading.

While I had a rough start, I felt much more confident by the end and although I didn’t talk much to the other two girls in my group, I enjoyed talking with one of them. I think my group is more willing to do storytelling so I think I can handle it myself in the next few weeks. As I left, I said goodbye to my partner and said I hoped to see her again next week and she said I would. It is my hope that my presence brightens up their day as we continue visiting.