Introducing “The Intentional Expat Hits the Streets” Interview Series

Thanks to my 30/30 Birthday Challenge, which has been opening me up to trying new things and meeting new people, I decided last week that I’d be launching a new series on this blog called “The Intentional Expat Hits the Streets.”  I’ll be interviewing people I meet during my travels, day-to-day life and other expats I come into contact with.

My first interview is with Skyler Johnstone, a 23 year old currently living in Seattle, WA (USA) and the founder of Be the Change Clothing co. I ran into him while walking on Seattle’s Alki beach last week and I did a double take because he was sitting on a bench across from the beach…typing on a typewriter. That’s right, not a cell phone, or a tablet, or even a journal, but a typewriter. I couldn’t resist approaching him and introducing myself. And he graciously agreed to be part of the interview series, here’s what he had to say:  

Living a Story Worth Telling

One of the coolest things about therapy is that it offers the chance for us mental health professionals to help clients rewrite their own stories. Sometimes this is done by looking back at their past and reframing the way in which they view a big life event. Or transforming a current crisis into the turning point in their life story. Instead of a victim they’re suddenly the author of their very own journey. By viewing tragedy, pain,  and disappointment as moments in the stories of our lives, we realize that just as in any good story, these experiences are not going to endure until the end of the book. What more, since we ourselves are the AUTHORS of these stories, we get to determine which direction the story will go when we bump into the unexpected twists and turns. What sort of ending do we want to arrive at when we close the book?

In yesterday’s blog post, I touched on how fragile life is and how tragic deaths can shake us up, doubting everything we once believed and causing us to question the very foundations of who we are. I don’t have any answers as to why life is full of tragedy, but the fact that it is, is undeniable. However, we do have the chance to choose how we respond in the face of the inevitable curve balls that life throws our way. And when this surprising and shocking news is that of someone’s passing, I think we can use it as a chance to ask ourselves, “how do I want to LIVE?”