NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As we know well here at NewsChannel 5, storytelling holds tremendous power. It can bring us all closer together and the best part is we all have stories to share.
Storytelling is at the center of a monthly event in Nashville, where folks from all walks of life open up and get real.
"So Tenx9 is a Belfast-originated monthly community storytelling event, for nine people to have 10 minutes each to tell a true story from their life based on a theme," said Michael McRay, the event's host.
Tenx9 actually reads as "ten by nine." Each month presents a different theme and anybody can submit their story for a chance to share it. The event is once a month at Jackalope Brewing in Wedgewood-Houston.
December's theme was "that's a wrap." New job or new city? New beginnings replacing parts from the past? That's all included.
“The story I shared tonight was about celebrating my Nash-versary," said Sara.
That means wrapping up a year in Nashville. More importantly, what it means to be brave.
"Just to mark one year in Nashville, which is also the two year mark of leaving a harmful relationship in my life, exactly to the date," she added.
Storytelling lets us share a part of what makes us — us.
There might be someone in the audience who can relate, but the story can mix from serious to comical.
"The story is about a guy I used to write a column with when I was young. And how we took shots at each other in just kind of a love-hate relationship," said Danny, another one of the storytellers.
Her story, though, also turned more serious.
"When I lost my first son, I was very sad and received a lot of gifts but his was the only one that really cut through the numbness and grief and made me feel like myself again," she said about her story.
With more than 100 people watching, there's comfort and trust.
“Everybody has a story related to whatever the theme is. It’s just a matter of are you comfortable sharing it and the environment that’s here is very safe and created to do that," Sara said.
“Our first January event, January of 2014, the theme was “the first time,” McRay said. "And I had a 65-year-old man stand up and tell a story and he ended up by saying it was the first time he had told a group of people that he’s a gay man.”
In a world with divide and what feels like constant bickering, it's two hours a month to be in a room free from judgment. It's intimate and most of all, it's real.
"It was his first time to ever speak publicly," McRay said. "His first time to come out. He ended up telling 14 stories at Tenx9 over the next several years. And his whole life changed once he decided he was able to be public with the truth, the full truth, of who he was."
Interested in January's event? Click here to learn more.
Do you have a story you'd like to share with me? You can email me at Austin.Pollack@newschannel5.com.
This story by Aaron Cantrell reminds me of my first school in Dyersburg, TN. I was a student at Bruce School from Kindergarten to second grade until the school system was integrated. My parents graduated from this K-12 school in 1960 in one of the city's African American communities. After sitting empty for several years, part of the school was demolished while the rest was renovated and now serves as a community center for the Bruce community in Dyersburg. A local pastor is now trying to do something similar in the Cemetery community in Rutherford Co.
-Lelan Statom
