How do people become?

I attended a multicultural conference yesterday to fulfill a requirement for school.  It was not a conference I would have chosen to go to, and I was not looking forward to five hours of discussion on why and how we should be more culturally aware.

When I arrived, I was early enough to get a great seat on the isle, close enough to have a good view of the speakers (my eyesight isn't what it used to be).  Since I was early, I also got to watch the staff and the speaker setting up the podium.  The speaker, Dr. Shawn Ginwright, is a professor of Africana Studies at San Francisco State University.  He has written several books, and worked extensively with urban youth, trying to find a way to reach these kids in their own space, and give them options.

The speech was really good.  But what struck me the most was watching him set up.  He brought his 11 year old son, and it was interesting to watch their interactions.  What must it be like to have a father who is "famous"?  To know your dad has published books, has been asked to speak all over the state, or possibly the country, and to have people recognize him and ask for his autograph?

More importantly, how did he, Dr. Ginwright, get to this place?  How did he achieve this success?  What is his story?  Was his dad a professor, and he just following in his footsteps?  Was he the first in his family to graduate college, and now he's a Ph.D?  In minority groups, that is not an unusual circumstance.

Then I looked around at the group of people who had come to hear him speak.  It was a hugely diverse group since it was a conference on multiculturalism.  What were their stories?  How did they come to this place in time?  How do people become who they are?

And I realized that I am fascinated by culture, but more than culture, I'm fascinated by people and their stories.  Everyone is unique.  Everyone has a story.  So many have overcome something in their lives to become who they are.  Diverse cultural backgrounds make these stories interesting.  Culture is the color in the portrait, so to speak.

I want to know!  What is your story?  Was there a pivotal experience in your life that changed you, that changed who you ultimately became?  Or were there a series of life experiences that sculpted your life slowly into what it is?  Do you float atop the waves going where the current takes you?  Or do you sink your legs in and try to direct the flow?

Stories are what make us all human.  Stories are what bring us together.  Ever since I learned to read I've devoured written stories.  Now, though, I am curious to know the people in the stories.  There are so many unknown lives, and what could be better than telling your story?