Interviews and Listening

I've got a lot going on that I'd like to blog about. Things that I've heard in recent sermons, thoughts I've had, things going on with Hadley, but as I sit down to write it all out I draw a blank. I've even been keeping notes (as a good writer should) in my iphone as I hear things I'd like to blog about. So here is an update on my writing journey. Maybe I'll do another post this week about one of my many musings.

One of my assignments for the Writer's Guild was to interview someone and write an article based on the interview. I had a hard time choosing between family members, friends, people in the church...the possibilities were endless. I decided to go with one of our pastors. I knew he had gone from working with a software company to working in the church so I thought I'd get his story. I sometimes think I'd like to work in the church in the future, but who knows. Going into the interview I was a little nervous. I'm not the best at keeping conversations alive, especially when it comes to asking questions, but I had done a little prep so I knew where I could guide the conversation if needed.

I don't think it could have gone any better, for my first interview anyway. After over an hour of talking I had realized I needed to get back to my dad who was babysitting for me but I had so many more questions to ask. I didn't need to ask more questions because I had gotten enough information. In fact, it made it a little difficult to weed through all the information to write a brief article. More is always better though. I realize part of the success to the interview was my interview subject. He's very laid back and easy going; a very personable guy. I imagine some people would be difficult to interview. I've been energized ever since about my future in writing. I feel like if writing books doesn't pan out I can always write articles. I enjoy sitting and listening to other people's stories, it's not something I do often and not something I ever thought I was good at. Sure it probably helped that I recorded the interview so I could go back and verify quotes, but getting to know someone through that brief encounter was very fulfilling and very much a blessing.

I started to think of all the people around me and all the different experiences they've been through. What amazing stories I'm sure they all have. It would take a while to write about all of them but I'm starting with my grandparents and hoping to get to some friends and other church members. These are people I respect so much, however in many different ways. If I do it for nothing else than self-gratification and the legacy for our family I'd be happy. I started interviewing my grandma a little last night. I got some basic info from her, like what her parents did for work, did she have any other family that lived in town. I knew she had grown up in Tucson just like I did so I was interested to hear the changes the city had gone through and her experiences. I think I got about 30 minutes of information out of our conversation but I've already learned so much about her.

These experiences have created a desire in me to learn more about other people and ultimately become a better listener. The hardest part for me really is to remember everything, but recording it and writing things down helps. The art of listening has really been lost in our society and that's unfortunate. We could learn so much from each other if we just took time to listen. "One man's junk is another man's treasure," yet another lesson I've learned. People might think their life is boring or so messed up no one would really care to hear it, but I think we can learn so much from each other even in the boring stuff or the negative stuff so don't be afraid to share.

This week take some time to really LISTEN to someone. Their story might surprise you!