16-year-old Hillsborough student launches a storytelling project to fight dehumanization

Throughout my 16 years, I have always loved stories. Whether I was watching them, hearing them, reading them, or experiencing them, stories have always captured my interest.

I enjoy reading stories like The Odyssey, Shakespearean plays, and many others. After thinking about my passion for stories, I soon realized that what I love most is placing myself in other people's shoes. I began catching myself looking at people and wondering about their stories. I would think, "Who are they?", "What have they been through?", and "How did they become the person they are today?" For a while, I ignored these thoughts, thinking there was never a way to find the answers.

During this time, I was learning about major events throughout history in school. Many of these events were surrounded by dehumanization, the social process in which people are denied human qualities. Dehumanization strips away one of the most important human feelings: empathy.

I soon realized that empathy can be found in every story. Through the stories I have read, I have gained empathy and understanding that have helped me throughout my life. I began considering other people's perspectives and trying to understand where they were coming from. In doing so, I have been able to approach situations differently and change their outcomes.

This realization gave me the idea for Planting Stories. If stories could do this for me, then surely, they could do it for others. Once I had this idea, I really started thinking. What would the world look like without dehumanization?

That's why I started Planting Stories.

Planting Stories (plantingmystory.com) is a free website where anyone can share a personal story. It does not have to be a polished essay or written for a specific audience, just a real moment in life. I hope people submit stories about war, immigration, love, kindness, overcoming, miracles, life lessons, and even the animals in their lives.

Someone's story can make others feel the emotions of one's life. It is a lot harder to dehumanize a person once you have felt their emotions, in their own words, about their own life. These stories expand our imagination to feel the emotions of others through our life. History can easily become about dates and headlines, but storytelling puts the person back in it. These stories can educate the next generation and preserve pieces of history that would otherwise be lost.

Every day we are surrounded by people carrying stories that they assume no one wants to hear, or that they have never been asked about. The veteran a few doors down. The grandmother who came here from another country with nothing. The neighbor who survived something most of us cannot imagine. Those stories deserve to be kept.

So, this is an invitation. If you have a story, or if there's someone in your life whose story you have always thought should be written down, let Planting Stories inspire you to stop and take the time to capture it. You can submit yours at plantingmystory.com, and hopefully soon you can read others there too. It takes a few minutes, and it costs nothing but a little reflection.

We can't hold onto every memory. But we can plant a few and let them grow into something the next generation gets to keep!

Emma Newman is the founder of Planting Stories. Share your story at plantingmystory.com or follow along on Instagram (@planting.my.story) and Facebook (Planting Stories).