by Chloe Koffas, Regular Contributor

Santa Barbara High School, Class of 1991

There’s  something powerful about storytelling.

We reminisce about a humorous memory with a friend we grew up with and our life-long connection becomes that much stronger.  We hear someone speak about a deeply moving moment of their life and it ignites us with recognition of the beauty of all our lives.  We share a story about a struggle with a trusted friend and are relieved to find that they have the same struggle.  Stories can tell a profound truth.

Lies Are The Enemy

Lies, on the other hand, like to hide in the dark and tremble when you find the courage to uncover them.  Sometimes lies are delivered to us in the form of stories.  Sadly, these get passed down from one generation to another…lies that tell us we aren’t good enough or that we are all alone in our suffering.  What I have learned of lies is that they live to betray at every moment of their existence.  Yet, ultimately this helps us: they announce the other’s failings and then attack the other’s weakest links until, eventually, they are all destroyed.  Lies are enemies to us, and they are enemies to each other.  Lies are weak.

Sometimes lies are delivered to us in the form of stories.  Sadly, these get passed down from one generation to another.

But truth is powerful.  The more truth you bring together, the more it reinforces itself and begins to synchronize.  Truth is powerful because, as it is delivered in the dimensional form of story, it imparts courage to the listener.  When another Gen Xer tells a story from their growing-up years, especially if it is a story that is hard to tell, it gives me courage to tell more of my own story.

Telling My Story

Generation X was raised at time when society was crumbling in on itself in every possible way.  While we are not a silent generation, we are clearly not a particularly loud one either.  Let’s tell our stories, and archive them however we can.

I have been researching Generation X for a long time now, and I can tell you that there is an enormous overlap in our experiences – especially the ones we generally don’t talk about.  I have been blogging for five years and I am only just beginning to tell my story.

While it’s interesting to read about history, it is fascinating to hear of an individual’s experience of it or find out how it changed the trajectory of their lives.  What do you remember about the late 1970’s and the Winter of Discontent?  How did all the boom and bust of the 1980’s and 1990’s affect you?  What were you thinking in the moment when you watched the millennium change?  If you are Generation X, you’ve seen some monumental history and because of that, I can tell you that your story, or at least parts of it, are probably extraordinary.  While castles of sand get washed away, as kingdoms rise and fall, as one generation comes and another goes, these stories, our stories, find a way to live on.

While castles of sand get washed away…as one generation comes and another goes, these stories, our stories, find a way to live on.

Telling Our Story

Most of us don’t tell our story in chronological order.  We tell the parts that we are ready to tell, and then later, when we find more courage, we tell the parts that are harder to tell.  Tell your story, Generation X, even if it’s handing down a box of Polaroids to your kids. Even if it’s some words about the most important day of your life scribbled on a cocktail napkin that will be put in the back of a photo album.  Tell your story, or some part of it, even if it’s just to your best friend in an email.

We tell the parts that we are ready to tell, and then later, when we find more courage, we tell the parts that are harder to tell.

Even better, tell your story to all of us – you might be surprised how much we can relate as fellow Gen Xers.  You are in good company.  Together, the truth of our stories will reinforce each other, and will reconcile each other, and will show us how not alone we are because so many of our stories are the same story.   Through our individual stories, we become part of a larger, collective story.  By bringing our stories together, our truth together, we have hope for a better ending to the story of our generation.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
-John 8:32

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