Showing posts with label storytelling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label storytelling. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Say One Thing About Yourself





The year was 1988. The place was Vancouver Community College Langara Campus. The subject was a level 200 Canadian History course. The professor was Catherine Smith. It was a smaller class tutorial and not the main class lecture. This was our first meeting.


She had us in a circle and as a form of an icebreaker she told us to say one thing about ourselves. When it began I felt like shooting myself. My name is ____ and I took history 115 last term. My name is ___ and I live in Richmond. I was the second last person in the circle to say their one thing. Well seeing as we were in a circle and we were saying our first names an idea came to mind to liven things up a bit.  My name is Ed and I am an alcoholic. I deadpanned it.


Prof Smith ( yes Voltes V fans) looked at me all serious and said " but you are better now right now right?  " .  I am sure I diffused her concern at that moment. I also felt a bit for the woman that was last in the circle who if I recall 30 years later said she was from Williams Lake.