Hi! I’m Eloise,
A Student at Issaquah High School :)
Inspired by Brandon Stanton's website Humans Of New York, I decided to create my own take, capturing the stories of Issaquah High School.
Over the past few years, I have learned that we tell stories a lot. By movies, books, word of mouth- mostly just how we live our lives. And behind each story, as many of us have been taught, there is an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. All of us have braved a form of this system, whether it's been many times over again or for each aspect.
For me, I felt a lot of pressure to be everything for everyone. That brought me to feel like I needed to prove myself, to make up for stereotypes that I felt were assigned to me. And fast forward, that fueled a lot of bad decisions and not great thoughts in my head and heart. I wrestled with my faith, with my self-worth, And it doesn’t help that my brain is basically remodeling and rethinking everything I thought made up who I am.
But weirdly enough, I always circle back to my faith, and to the people that love me, and remind me of the truth that there is a reason I am here every day. And in that, I have found this:
The more you untangle each conflict that you face with a patient and honest heart toward yourself, the brighter the special chapters in your story become. In other words, you can never become grateful for the light unless you have been through the dark.
"So, your story is not a once upon a time. It is richly complicated with joy and bitter intertwined."
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And as much as trials have caused a lot of heartache for you, they have also helped in shaping you to be the remarkable human that you are today. All of this can feel complex because that is the way stories are. In reality, you don’t see a person living according to the hero's journey And what’s cool is that it only proves your story’s value when you share it with others. At times, it is terrifying to be that kind of vulnerable with people. But at the same time, it is so necessary. Every time someone shares the scars of their story with me, it brings a sense of respect for them I didn’t know was there. Because there is power in your story, and my hope for everyone is that we come to realize this truth to then grow empathy, authenticity, and connection across our student body.
