“Once upon a time” is what we use to start a fairytale, how we create worlds of magic, heroes, and imaginary creatures. In the real world, however, there’s more “once upon a now” and a lot less magic going on. In March of 2020, right before we all went under lockdown, I was lucky to be invited to run a workshop in Istanbul to introduce 15-year-olds to two of my favorite things; writing and illustrating children’s books. I’ve always believed that everyone has a story worth telling. From little children telling you how they rode their bikes over and over all day, to older generations reminiscing about the good old days. From the most basic to the most intricate ones, all stories narrate the world from one’s point of view.

Going into that session with 15 kids, I had an arsenal of new ways to teach them about storytelling, how to come up with a story and how to make it compelling, how to create a plot, and how to narrate events. I was going to leave the artistic expression completely up to them. 

By the time our introductions were done and the ice was broken, I realized that those talented individuals came prepared, too. Some with more than one story to tell! Each suggestion, tip, and idea I threw at them was met with enthusiasm and absorbed with intent. Never a dull moment in that session! Every team had a writer and an illustrator, and once the brainstorming storm was over and everyone was head down on a paper preparing their stories, I had a quiet moment to grab some coffee. So grab yours and let me take you through my initial observations: 

Storytelling is embedded into us. There’s no magic to it. Yes, some people are more fluent or skilled, but we all are able to tell our stories. 

Telling these stories is a human need. Not just for the sake of sharing alone. See, we process our feelings towards life events while narrating them. We find words to describe them and we hear ourselves talking about them in past tense. So our brains understand that whatever happened to us, is a thing of the past now. So we start healing and feeling safe again. I’ve seen it while the kids talked to me about the horrible events they witnessed. So I’ve always made it a point to ask them, “And now that it’s over, how do you feel?” Most of them took a second to think…most of them didn’t realize it was over yet. Until they told it as a story. 

Turning their trauma into a story helped many of them take control of the narratives of their lives. Many of them changed the ending to one they wanted. They became the heroes they needed. They finally found ways to fit in. Ended wars. Healed scars, and even paid tribute to lost souls. 

I want to wrap this up with the highlight of that workshop. I was informed that one of the kids there was in a tough spot. His family situation was complicated and he’d seen more horrors than any of us. When I met him, his body language showed a total shutdown. Zero eye contact, arms crossed defensively, and very few words. And since everyone was busy working on their projects, I took some time to build a bond because bonds are what can keep him around. I did most of the talking at first, and while I talked, my hands were busy drawing a small cat on the bottom of an A4 paper, I told him that this class was not a waste of his time as he thought, and I folded the paper in half covering the cat. he asked me: Tell me one good thing about “baby stories” he said mockingly. I took a minute to finish drawing a window on the fold right where the cat drawing was. I cut the window edges and answered him as I opened them to reveal the cat. 

“Because it opens windows to our souls and you never know what you’ll find there.” 

And in that second there, that 16-year- old boy who was trying to act like he wasn’t interested in “baby stories” had wide eyes filled with curiosity and awe. His laugh filled the class as he asked me “HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!” If I ever had a cool moment in my life, that had to be it.

He spent the rest of the day making windows and drawing things inside of them. At first, he got frustrated because that might’ve been his first time doing it. But I turned my head to help someone with their illustration and when I looked back he had flipped a laptop and started tracing a dog on a piece of paper. He found a way because now he had the will, the will to tell a story. He used that technique to draw me a rose and to make up his own story. It was a picture book with no words because he believed he wasn’t that good at writing. The story took us through a park he goes to sometimes when he needs some peace. He just googled objects, trees, and animals and traced them. But in the end, he drew a magical place full of beauty, and that’s where his imagination takes him when he’s at that park.

He told a story. A story, in my opinion, that is much deeper than any other. An inner journey to a magical place he finds refuge in, and he shared it with us through the art of storytelling. 

– Rama Samkari