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< Back Sofie's Story Sofie talks about her experience being diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 12 and how it affected her and her family. She discusses how it inspired her to pursue her future career and the importance of empathy in the medical field. 00:00 / 03:25 So even at a young age, I think that I have overcome a lot in my life. What comes to mind for me is my struggle with being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In the 6th grade when I was 11 years old I was diagnosed with diabetes. And, it's kind of just become my new normal but that does not take away from the fact that it's a very hard thing to deal with. Not only did it affect me, it affected my family. We kind of had to learn how to take care of my body because I did not have full control over it anymore. We had to learn these calculations to eat and I had to learn how to test my blood sugar and take shots every day. Eating wasn’t normal for me anymore I had to take an insulin shot to eat. But most of all, I think that it's taught me to be empathetic and to be more curious about the human body which is why I want to go into nursing school. But I think that knowing about a health issue such as diabetes firsthand, really really translates into your career. So my endocrinologist, which is my diabetes doctor, is a type 1 diabetic herself and it’s had such a huge impact on my life because not only does she have empathy for me and can, you know, understand my struggles but she relates firsthand because they are struggles that she’s gone through every day of her life. I want to have that impact on my patients, I want them to see me, and see me being successful and healthy and say to them you know you can do it I know that in the moment it doesn’t feel like you are going to get through this but you are. And that's another thing that you know as a nurse you have to be aware of people’s circumstances and do those little things for other people like you know, it's not just about treating them it's about making them feel that comfort that you know they’re cared about and they’re loved. And that's something that my parents both taught me and it's something that I think you know they definitely had a huge impact on my choice to become a nurse for sure. So I think that just because I’m young, I don’t think there’s an age on wisdom. I don’t think that wisdom has any age I think that I’ve been able to become a lot wiser because of my experiences. I think that you know, being a young person that has overcome a lot of health issues, it’s has taught me to be thankful for all of the little things. I want other people to be able to feel that as well. I think that even though again I’m young, this has totally shaped me into the person I am today in every single way and I think that being a young voice for other diabetics or other people in public health has allowed me to share personal experiences with my classmates, with my professors and its allowed me to have this voice that other people don’t necessarily have. I also think it's important to show people like that if we view our struggles as growing experiences, learning experiences, they can open up so much opportunity. And I’ve learned a lot about myself, about public health, and about everything just because of diabetes and I’m super thankful for that. So that’s why I feel that it's important to share my story. Previous Next

Rick talks about his parents and how they were his lighthouses growing up. Specifically, he focuses on how a moment with his father in the hospital has guided his view on the meaning of life. Rick's Story Rick talks about his parents and how they were his lighthouses growing up. Specifically, he focuses on how a moment with his father in the hospital has guided his view on the meaning of life. Rick's Story 00:00 / 03:15 I have always felt that my parents were kind of my lighthouses. You know they kind of guided me along the way and I think that my father was more protective of the rocks, but my mom was the lighthouse that steered me to shore when maybe I hit the rocks. They were pretty incredible people, I mean and it is sort of, of course like any family we had our own disfunctions. My father raised birds and when I say we had birds, he had maybe 40 parakeets in a cage on wheels in the garage that he would wheel out. We had ring-necked doves and white doves in the basement in a huge coop. And then he actually built a huge coop outside for the cocktails. So we grew up with lots of birds and he was a very gentle man, he was a man of birds and flowers. My mother was very, my mother was always making something for somebody, okay. She was always crocheting or knitting. And if she loved a soap opera star who had a baby she would send them things that she made. And she was always feeding people. And if she didn’t have food to give someone if she came, she would give you canned food. “You sure you have enough to eat honey?” you know. We took in a lot of people who had no place to go during Christmas and so there were always people who would come for the holidays. They kind of took people under their wing. I think one of the most significant things that happened for me was when my father had kidney disease and when he, it was discovered he only had kidney. Um and he eventually had to go for dialysis but he had that type of poisoning that happens and we were all gathered in the hospital room and I thought that that was going to be the time that he was going to be leaving us. My father has blue eyes, but his eyes changed color. They just sort of. I don’t even know how to describe it, they became translucent and we all noticed that. But he was looking behind us, and I just knew that his brother was in the room, his mother was in the room. You know, his relatives were in the room and that they were there to get him. And to take him. And I really didn’t expect that he would live that night, but he did. And so in the following morning when we went to visit him, and we of course were thrilled that he was still there you know, he said, “I really thought I was going to leave last night and I never thought I would have the opportunity to say I love you again.” And I thought, oh my god, that’s it. That’s the only reason why we are here, that he gave me my mantra. He gave me my purpose. He gave me this incredible insight that the only reason that we are here is for the opportunity to love and say those words. And we forget that as we squabble, as you know, as we go through everything we go through. You know but, that to me became the beacon of his lighthouse. Previous Next

Kaela expresses how running has been a fundamental part of her life since she was younger but has really unfolded for her as she was in high school and college to something she really loves to do. Over the years, her relationship with running and the community she has formed with it has grown into something that holds a special place for her to continue wherever she ends up in the future. Kaela's Story Kaela expresses how running has been a fundamental part of her life since she was younger but has really unfolded for her as she was in high school and college to something she really loves to do. Over the years, her relationship with running and the community she has formed with it has grown into something that holds a special place for her to continue wherever she ends up in the future. Kaela's Story 00:00 / 14:43 I would say when I was very very young, I was always like there's there's these track races they'd have every Wednesday night in my town and I would go from when I was like two or three years old and it would just be like a bunch of really little kids just running down like the straightaway of the track and at the end you get a ribbon. The only reason I liked to go was because there's an ice cream truck there and at the end you would get like a little popsicle from the ice cream truck and I'd get a nice green participation ribbon and I had like a hundred of them cuz I never was anywhere close to the front but, that was kind of like my first introduction to running. When I was very little I continued to do those races throughout elementary school but it was never something that I really saw myself doing, it was just like a fun activity. Then when I was in middle school I had a friend who was like bugging me she's like “you got to come out and try this cross country thing like I know you're really going to like it” and I was being very stubborn about it and I was like “god I just don't think it's for me like it's just not my thing” and eventually I was like “fine I'll go to like the introductory meeting with you” and I want and I was like I left the meeting and already I was like “yeah I'm definitely going to do this” and throughout 2 years in middle school, I did it because I actually really enjoyed running. I liked competing, I thought it was a lot of fun I liked just getting better. I just like I just loved the feeling of running. The feeling of like going after school and just getting to be active. So that was kind of my first introduction to it and then I think as I got older and in high school and college I've definitely it's gone from a “oh this is something I really like to do” to like “wow this is something I love and this is like a sport that I love in a community that I love.” So that my relationship with it has gradually increased and gotten stronger over time. When I am running and when I am healthy and I am very grateful for it. I feel very grateful that I am able to because I've know how many times that I that I haven't been able to do that so it really makes the times when I'm healthy a lot lot special a lot more special. I think that I've learned a lot of resilience and patience from running and not the things we want aren't necessarily going to come to us right away and that things don't necessarily change overnight and it takes a lot of of patience and like dedication and a lot of wanting wanting something to happen to be able to make it happen. I tell you about that and a lot about having a purpose and wanting to. One thing I love about running is I know it is a very much lifelong sport and that there are so many opportunities to continue it once I leave college and get a job. I was so inspired I am able to continue it for as long as I can and hope that wherever I live in the future I'm able to find a new community of Runners and a new running group. I know that they're everywhere. I'm really happy that it is something that I know is going to stick with me for life. For me, I think running definitely has a special place. There's something about just like being able to feel like you're flying over the pavement and it just feels very freeing to me and definitely a place where I can clear my mind. Previous Next

< Back Sam's Story In this story, Sam discusses her passion for women's health through her own life experiences. Sam's college experience has allowed her to surround herself with groups of people who lift up and support one another. 00:00 / 02:57 Sam: I would consider myself the typical College student. I am currently pursuing a degree in public health with a focus on women's health. Based on my personal and family experiences, I have become a really strong advocate for women's health, and my mom was a big influence in that she raised me to always kind of put yourself forward and never take no for an answer. And my friends have also instilled that, and they've been an inspiration in my life. My mom was a big factor in influencing my decision to go into public health and women's health specifically. Sam: She has a reproductive condition called endometriosis, which I inherited from her. And she kind of always made sure that health comes first as physical and mental health before you do anything else, because if you can't be your best self, then you're not going to be of service or helping others. Joining a sorority in College, I found a really solid group of friends where women support one another. That's kind of like the core of our friendship is we're going to push each other to do our best and be our best selves. I specifically have probably four or five made friends where we all just like, go big or go home in our friendship. Sam: And that's been really inspiring and public health because I want to do good for them and support them as women as well, because I had only been in a class of maybe 15 my whole life. So my freshman year classes were 300 lectures, and I was very nervous that I would kind of get lost and fall behind in my academics, which are very important to me. But my mom reminded me to be an advocate for myself and use the voice that I have. I was able to push through and make it a home, really. In high school, I did a club called ModelUN, where it was like a mock trial debate team. Sam: And one of the projects that we did was really influential in my decision to go to public health. Also, we were talking about sanitation and refugees in developing countries. So when I got to College and I realized that I could do that for a major, I was like, oh, let's do this. This is so interesting and tied into women's health. I mean, I have a voice. I wanted to be able to use it for those who are afraid to or are able to. And that's really where I am now. That's what got me here. Previous Next

Jonathan Daube's Story Jonathan Daube's Story 00:00 / 04:23 Previous Next

< Back Rene's Story Rene explains how she feels being the eldest sister of her siblings. She talks through how an experience with her brother brought their relationship together. 00:00 / 03:59 So my first question is what was your role as the eldest self out eldest sister? Well, I'm the oldest of four. And let's see, I have a sister who's two and a half younger, two and a half years, three years younger than I am. And then another. I had a brother and a sister seven years younger than I am. So we were the girls and twins. That's what we refer to as we were growing up. It was wonderful. It's really a position of privilege. And it's also burden. It was also burdensome. I was a lot was expected of me in terms of helping my mom take care of the other three, she was a woman who was viewed as sickly, and I was capable, and I was smart. And I was willing, because I just wanted those parents to walk me into an audit to get me what I wanted to care those kids in January of 2019, my brother, her twin died, my brother died, he had cancer. And for the last three months of his life, the three sisters we're very close family, almost too close. Sometimes we were almost too close sometimes. My three sisters and I went to Florida and took care of him in his in his medical needs were complicated. And three of us just took on what we were best at. My sister Joanne, the youngest one, his twin is good at organizing shows, she would organize things. And everything was very organized. The medications were organized, our schedules were organized. My sister Marina who loves loves, loves animals. She's such a tender hearted woman. Well, my brother had 180 pound English master. And the dog ate only raw food because my brother was very fussy about what his dogs eat. And Marina, we prepare my sister is two and a half years younger, she would really take care of moose ducks name was moose. And she would feed him and make sure he was water bowls. I mean, Moose was a lot of work. It was like having another child and did things that were more around the emotional caretaking of my brother and made sure that every time he left his bed and came out into the main area, and he had this television screen, which was like, like a sports bar television screen, it was huge. And he would come and sit on the couch and blare it out. And I made sure that every time he came out and sat down, loose was on one side of him in a sister, any one of us, no matter what was going on, one of us had to be sitting next to him, like holding his hand or leaning up against what I leaned up against him. I really wanted him to feel and know our presence and our love was very, very moving. It was such a gift to be with him at the end such a gift and in many ways it both is in a funny way it bonded us the three sisters. It bonded us in a way nothing else could have done. And it also gave us some freedom from each other because I grew up in this enmeshed family, family that just to leave the family was felt like sometimes an act of betrayal to go to college felt for me like an act of betrayal. Somehow after Mark step, having had this very intense experience. We found our freedom to be more of who we were, as individuals. Previous Next

< Back Bob's Story 00:00 / 04:23 Did you have any moments in high school that changed the way you saw yourself and or how others saw you? Yeah. I sure did. And, that's one of the reasons I feel like we, you know, we found a, you know, a beginning of a shared, you know, experience in our relationship. So, I'll do a little bit like what you did, a little history. Yeah. So around 13, you know, so a little bit before high school, I always tell people the same image. I felt like a brown burlap sack was pulled over my head. You know? Like, the world became fuzzy, and there was a little bit of light, but it wasn't clear. It was really hard and confusing for me, and my experience in high school is very similar. I saw myself as incredibly shy. I was very, very anxious. I didn't go through a period of not going to school because my parents would let me do that, period. I was getting up, and I was going to school, and that's all there was to it. I I was very alone in school. I could probably pick out one or two names from my high school experience that were became friends, but I didn't have real friends. Then I didn't socialize. I didn't date. I didn't hang out with people. I didn't go to parties at school. I also had an eating disorder at that time. So, you know, when I was, I couldn't even eat in front of other people. I'd go to the cafeteria because they need me. It wasn't till I think I think junior or senior year, they allowed us to stay in our class or our homeroom during lunch. We didn't have to go. The way I saw myself is someone that was very anxious, very alone, really confused about that whole thing about the burlap bag. Just didn't I couldn't interreact react interact with people in a way that I would like to. I mean, I did some stuff. I was, you know, got on the high school newspaper, but that was very cerebral. You know, if you've gotten to know me, I'm a people person, but I sure wasn't then. And then I was lucky enough. What happened to me, the experience that began to change that for me was in the first semester of my junior year. We were required in my high school to take public speaking. It was a required class. The assignment was a humorous speech. I guess I saw myself in my head as funny. I don't know if I am funny, but and so I really dug. This project somehow spoke to me. I got up. We were allowed to hold the material. It wasn't memorized. Somewhere early in the speech, I began to notice this amazing thing was happening was that people the the other kids in the audience, the other students were laughing like crazy. I mean, they were falling on the floor, and the teacher was laughing. And it gave me this incredible sense of power. I'm really, I think that's the right word. This incredible sense that I had something in me that, I didn't really realize, that I could be really funny, that I could entertain other people, that this person that was super quiet and hiding in the corner all of the time and not even eating in front of other people could begin to change that. Right? And, it really did have this profound effect on me. This same teacher directed a a play the second semester called the Thurber Carnival, and it worked. She said, why don't you come try out? You're really funny, and it would be great. So I came and I tried it out, and she cast me. And, so here I am up in front of an audience of, you know, 800 or a thousand people, all of a sudden, this super shy person. And all of a sudden, I had this whole experience around the arts, which actually became my passion late in life. But what was important about it was it gave me the sense of myself in a different way. So, it was a beginning. It wasn't the end. Like you said, you had a long way to go Yeah. After that And for me, I had a long way to go too. I was still super shocked. And I also I guess I discovered that being you know, you didn't touch on this as much, but on your family, but being away from my crazy family allowed me to really grow more. I came to UMass like you did. And when I came back for the first break at intersession, my parents didn't know who I was. They said, what happened? I had grown into this other person. For me, the high school that that experience of that classroom began to change my whole life, my inner sense of who I was and what I was capable of. Previous Next

< Back Jonathan's Story, 2023 00:00 / 04:23 Previous Next

< Back Gail's Story, 2024 Allie and Gail discuss Gail’s early childhood years and her struggle with loneliness and isolation, due to how people viewed her because her sister was Autistic. Gail discusses as she grew up how she experienced loneliness, how she advocated for autism in her teaching career, and how she overcame isolation. 00:00 / 02:56 n my younger years, I grew up, with a mom who was mentally ill and a sister who was severely autistic. I endured years of shunning with my sister whenever I would go out because her social skills were really rudimentary. And, when we would go somewhere, there were plenty of times when her behavior was not good, so people shunned her. I began to fear rejection, and I still do today. Loneliness took over when I was with my sister, and I was rejected or felt that way. Since I had been so involved with an autistic person, I began to care for her as others, and others with my mother because no there was nobody else to care for them. I had a mother, but her mental illness limited our relationship, which I so desired. So that was more loneliness. I I had no one to talk to. So, I just buried my feelings. I was embarrassed to speak to friends about my life. I feared being a failure with friends that I had, and I tried to smile and laugh. I used to try to joke a lot, but I never told anybody about my house, things that were going on. And I'd never developed close friendships. I had lots of friends, but I didn't have any close friendships. And I find that even today, two years after my sister has passed, that I almost need to take a course to help me attain close friendships. And I took a quote from the book that I really enjoyed. It says, if you don't let people in and you don't let yourself get too close, you can't get stomped out again. Loneliness seems to be the antidote against threat of hurt, although it imprisons you. And that's how I was. I just didn't I, I would talk to people, but I would be afraid to go too far. My risk of loneliness has been very high. Because I had adverse childhood experiences, both mental illness and severe autism left me afraid of life. So in in search of therapy, I was able to get a wonderful therapist. I mean, she has been everything to me. I spent ten years with her, and she helped me get past my struggle struggles. She also worked with me to meet people and to become caring, and I feel very, very lucky because of it. Previous Next

David talks about his experience with coming out during the 70s and 80s to his parents and how people’s perceptions of what it means to be gay was different then compared to today. He also talks about what it was like to finally be able to marry his partner Todd and what that meant to him. David's Story David talks about his experience with coming out during the 70s and 80s to his parents and how people’s perceptions of what it means to be gay was different then compared to today. He also talks about what it was like to finally be able to marry his partner Todd and what that meant to him. David's Story 00:00 / 03:06 Well, when I was a teenager I knew that I felt differently. But um, back in the um late 60s or late 70s there was really no place to go for information and stuff. So I had really no one that I could talk with or um, and you know you couldn’t go to the library and get a book or anything. It was, it was hard because its not like now where you know there’s social media. There’s just so much on television or movies or whatever. And, um I told myself that I was bisexual for a while and this sounds really horrible to say and I don’t mean it that way but I was telling myself that I was at least half normal but I was kidding myself cause I wasn’t. When I was in college, I finally accepted that I was gay. And that was when I decided to you know come out to my parents and I did it by letter. Which I guess some people would say is very cowardice. They were like typical republicans. Upstate New York. It’s not like Republicans now. But I knew that they would freak out and be crying and stuff like that. And I didn’t want to be there to have to deal with that because I want them to be able to have their honest reactions on their own. And I got a phone call from my parents and they said that they would always love me no matter what. They didn’t understand because back then nobody talked about it. That was kind of an important thing cause I know it still happens now, but back then I had a lot of friends that were disowned by their families and stuff like that, so. It was a worry. I moved here with my partner at the time and from Idaho and had never been here before. The reason we came here was because we read about the five colleges and we figured well that should at least help to make the area somewhat more progressive. And we found at that point, we’re talking 1977, that it was to a point but there was still the old you know bastions of conservatives and everything. I met my now husband in 1983 and we got married in 2006, so um and it was funny because that was I think a year or so after marriage was legalized in Massachusetts. And um, my mother and Todd’s mother were here to give us away and I was so glad that we did it then because my mom passed away the Christmas of that year. It was interesting how being married does make a difference. It makes the relationship more legitimate. It was very, I thought it was more empowering than I knew it would be before. Previous Next

< Back Hellen's Story Hellen describes the way her house represents Africa from the mustard-yellow color on the outside to the smell on the inside and the white lace sheets over the doors. Her parents incorporate many pieces of Kenya with them in their home in the US, and continue many traditions from their past. 00:00 / 03:42 Previous Next

< Back Eileen's Story Eileen discusses gender roles present in her childhood in the 1950s and how it caused her to choose her career in teaching. She then goes on to talk about how she was able to be successful in her career choice. 00:00 / 04:20 “How did you originally decide you want to do teaching as a career?” You know I’m not sure how I decided that I kind of wonder if, well I think I can be fairly relational, I mean I really like kids. But um I’m not sure I saw a lot of choices. I'm not sure I realized that there were all these kinds of things like be an engineer, or be an architect, or a doctor, or a therapist, or be a researcher. I think if I, I have no clue if I saw all of that what I would've chosen. I think I really felt that I had two choices, I could be a nurse or I could be a teacher. So I don't really know what I would choose to do, I mean I could've been a good motorcycle mechanic also I kind of like that stuff. But at the time I think I felt I had two choices, and I wasn’t really into the whole blood thing. “Do you regret that in a sense, do you feel like it was because of the time period you grew up in and how women were viewed? That you only really saw those two careers as an option” Do I Regret it…I don't think I have regrets about my teaching. You know I learned a lot all the time, you know as much about myself as about anything else. And I mean I could keep learning, it's endless. So um I don't really have regrets about that. I do imagine I probably wouldn't have done this, you know if I knew then what I know now. But I don't know what I would've done. You know in my world, I mean, there wasn't a mom of anybody that I knew that did anything. I mean I didn’t even know teachers or social workers. I mean I got put in a school with some really good teachers and I got placed there with two or three of my very close friends. And so It was kind of a hoot. It was hard, we were an inner-city school and the kids were tough. I don't know if they were really tough but they were tough for us, like fifth or sixth graders. But I was not alone, and I had this team of teachers, I worked with three teachers, not one. And they were really helpful. And I had my friends there and you know we would literally go to someone's apartment and figure out our week's lessons and kind of do all this stuff and do it together. You know, have some beers and you know just plan it and go down the tubes in terms of being successful and not being successful. I think I worked with some talented people. I think I was pretty average. Some of my friends were remarkably fantastic. And I learned alot from them. And that's kind of how I taught. I always met with other people and friends. You know that kind of hung out together and figured shit out together. Well, that was nice not to do it alone. I was lucky I had very good people. I just fell on really wonderful friends and support, that's the positive thing about teaching, you know you could get really lucky. I suppose you could get really unlucky too. But I got really lucky, you know I worked with great people. I think that's key in life. Who you work with is really, really important. You gotta have people you admire around you, or at least I did, or else it’s kind of doomed. And on the one hand, I didn’t feel like I had all that much choice. I just kind of went down this path, and with going down that path, I at least had a path. You know and I just took it and I didn’t really at the time, well I flailed here and there but I didn’t really question it and I was okay with it and it worked out. Previous Next