Story Telling

Friends, How are you today? This week? 

This morning I awoke early with a little time to ponder... 

and have been thinking about the beloved people in my life who are uplifting me right now in a time of uncertainty.  friends who have been a part of my story for many years. friends whose lives are closely  woven together with mine through the stories we share (past and present) .

this in turn led me to think about you... and your stories. I would love to know more about you. what things have brought you to where you are today.

Just to break the ice, I will start ... with a movie clip of my story. (because who can truly share their story in a tiny box meant for about 100 characters? but its a start) 

Hi, my name is Heather Lee Spriggs Thompson ... 

the daughter of two creative, spontaneous parents looking for a place to call home in central Texas. At the age of 8 we moved from city life to a small country town with Main street and plenty of antique shops. After a nearly two year battle my father passed away from a brain tumor. A moment that forever shaped me. My mother bravely raised my sister and me in this small town with the support of family and friends. She remarried, my youngest sister was born, and I went off to college to find myself. After two years studying art, I moved from West Texas to Nashville, TN (with my family). Unfortunately home life was unstable and unhealthy so my sister and I moved out and started new lives on our own. We spent two Summers in Romania, moved in with two other sisters and lived in a beautiful turn of the century home on a lake in Nashville. (Dubbed The Betty Crocker house.. it was a safe haven for our souls). Then I met my husband and all of that changed. We married in 2003 and stayed in Nashville after my friends and sister moved away. I began my decorative painting business, finished my BFA at a local art school, and then by 2008 was searching for a new creative business to pursue. Thus began Gathering Spriggs. Still a work in process I am getting closer to my dreams everyday. 

In fact, I have a "brand storming" session tonight via Skype with the fabulous Bernadette Jiwa of The Story of Telling. We met last week during a conference call hosted by Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl. Part of the deal was that if you were on the call you were entered into a drawing to receive one free brand storming session with Bernadette. Yep!! I was one of the winners!! Oh the benefits of not only a fabulous community but of signing up and receiving newsletters. 

So in preparation for our phone call I filled out an in depth questionnaire to help her know more about me and help me better brand my business. 

Whew!! I've been talking alot today. So needless to say, Story Telling is on my mind today. It feels essential to communicating who we are and who we long to be. 

So now I hope you will take a turn to share your story. ( and I hope it will be the start of many more). 

What is your story today? 

image: quote book tumblr and prettyfnmess

Comments

[Miss B]

How beautiful! You spent those summers in Romania, as in my country? : ) Or it's a city in US?

I flickered through The Story of Telling, it seems so interesting, i'm sure you'll find out so many great tips to help you with your creative job.

My story is quite short but has great perspectives : ) I'm almost 22 years old, right now working for my paper, i'm a Political Science student in the final year but i never wanna do something related, only something that may be relates to human rights. I spent my childhood at my grandparents, at the country side where i developed a great love for nature, land and the joy of working the land, for plants and bugs and everything. Then when the school started my parents moved back to the capital. I never went to art school, i studied literature in highschool, but i always wanted to make something art related, from dreaming to become a fashion designer (since my grandma worked in a sewing factory and my mother helped her) to dreaming of a jazz singing career. I got to Political Science dreaming about political campaigns, political image and branding in general, i still have a great love for advertising but after founding myself between pearls, charms, gems and other wonders i'm sure i'll never stop assembling them, creating my own line of tea jewelry : )

[laura evans]

love that quote ...

my story is only just beginning but i will share in a couple of weeks! glad to hear you're doing better chica. xx

[susana@citrusandorange]

I loved reading your story. ♥

[Monica C]

Very cool story. And love the quote you used at the beginning.

[kristie@thedecorologist]

one of my favorite quotes! i didn't know you lived in Romania - my dear next-door-neighbor is Romanian and defected when she was and 18-year-old ballerina. She has quite a story. So exciting to have won the brainstorming session - perhaps you and I should get together and have one ourselves! let's schedule in april, k?
xoxo

[Amisha]

Hope you are feeling better! One of my high school teachers had written this to me when I graduated "I hope all things in life make you better and not bitter".

[LouBoo]

Hi. I'm new :-)
So - I just can't resist the challenge to tell a lift story in less than 100 words. So me: born in England, but my mother is Danish. My dad flew aeroplanes and was not around that much. He left and remarried when I was 8. I have an older brother who was a father figure to me, but as the real father left, my brother kinda struggled to find his way in life. Now he has and it's all good. I met my husband when I was 9 years old; I rode my bike past his house. It was years later when we got together, but still I was only 18. I have now been with him for more years in my life that I was without him. We have two children and still live in the hometown in England where we both grew up. I don't make anything as my job - I work for a corporate multi-national. But part of me - the creative side - likes to write. I am a frustrated diarist - hence the blog. Lou x

[Heather]

Dear Miss B,
Ce faci? Multumesc pentru gandurile tale. Vorbit Engleza?
When I was in Romania my friends there told me I spoke like a baby.
And that was 10 years ago...
Where do you live? I stayed in Timisoara, Pitesti, Brasov, and traveled through Bucuresti and Sibiu. It is such a beautiful country, filled with caring and open people. The only thing I didn't like very much was the Ciorba de burta. :)
I would love to go back again someday as I have many friends who still live there.
Thanks for sharing your story. It sounds like it is just beginning for you. When you graduate from school you have the whole world open to you. Will you stay living where you are or travel? Have you ever been to the US? If you plan to come you will have to stay with me for a little while.

Hope we can be friends for a long time.
Thanks again for stopping by here.
Noapte buna!
Heather

[Heather]

Hey Lou,
Thanks for your bravery and sharing your story with me and others here. What a fairy tale romance you have. I have a lovely image in my head of you riding your bike in slow motion with golden light covering you as you ride past your future husband.
Isn't great how our stories unite us somehow. Knowing that we aren't the only ones with less than perfect families...
I hope you continue to discover yourself through your writings. I have read your blog and it seems like a great safe place for you to explore your inner workings.
Thanks again for stopping by,
Heather