What matters to you?

What matters to you?

This is the question I always ask people at the start of one of our Your Voice, Your Story projects.

It was the question that Macmillan Cancer Support asked me to use as a stimulus for storytelling when we partnered with them on a digital storytelling project during 2020-2023, and I’ve found it a lovely, compassionate prompt which I’ve carried into our work with young people.

I’ve run storytelling projects with adopted young people and birth parents through our projects with Scottish Adoption and St Andrew’s Children’s Society, and I’ve found everyone responds well to that question. First of all, it’s a very wide and accessible prompt: all of us can think of people, personal values, objects, routines, places and all kinds of other things that just feel like they matter, even if we don’t know exactly why.

Secondly, the question ‘What Matters to You?’ is one we can engage with at different levels. For example, I love playing music with other people. I can tell that story in different ways: I can choose to mention the hard times and challenges that music helped me through, or I can hold that detail back if I don’t feel comfortable.

However deep it goes, if you tell a story about something that truly matters, it’s a joyful thing to witness. In our projects with Scottish Adoption and St Andrews, young people have created stories that share lessons for anyone willing to listen. The lessons I’ve learned from their stories include how teachers can make things easier for adopted young people, how important objects are as a point of continuity at points of transition, and how role-playing games allow space for young people to express themselves and form genuine friendships.

If you want to dip your toe into storytelling activities, here’s one I always recommend:

• Choose one of your five senses (sight, sound, taste, smell or touch).
• Think of a memory that you strongly associate with that sense. For example, hearing your favourite song at a concert; seeing the seaside for the first time; feeling the texture of a favourite childhood blanket.
• Make some notes about what comes back to you.

If it feels comfortable, you can share your memories in a group, or you can simply keep them private. I’m a huge believer in the pleasure of recollecting for its own sake – just be mindful of any potential trauma in the lives of those you’re working with, and always make sure they know they don’t need to share anything they don’t want to share. Sharing a joyful memory is a much easier way into storytelling.

Click here to find out more about Scottish Book Trust’s work with St Andrews, Scottish Adoption and numerous other partners.