I've had the amazing opportunity to do some great work with my good friend Brandon Telg.

Please visit www.selfnarrate.com to grow your story and grow yourself!

Our Story

Founded in early 2013, the idea for Self Narrate was born at the University of Florida. Two graduate students, Jaron Jones and myself (Brandon Telg), were asked to share our personal stories with our classmates. Neither of us had ever been asked to do this before. We utilized the tools of self reflection and analysis to craft and share our narratives. It was a powerful and cathartic experience, sharing our stories with our peers. After the experience, we were surprised to find a major side-effect: self growth. Inspired, we decided to ask strangers from the UF community what their stories were. We quickly learned two things:

When people are given the opportunity to share truthful personal experiences, the impact is empowering and immediate for both the storyteller and the listener.
Many people have never thought of their lives as a story, and as a result, they do not see personal experiences as being noteworthy.

Impassioned by this experience, we immediately dedicated ourselves to creating a method of self-growth that would allow others to craft their own personal narratives. We also set about creating a safe space for the sharing of these developed stories, so we created a monthly storytelling meetup group. Self Narrate is the result of these initiatives. Moving forward, Self Narrate seeks to empower people through their own stories and create a community of storytellers in Gainesville.

Our Mission

Self Narrate's mission is to help people of all backgrounds and beliefs engage in self-growth practices, harnessing their own personal experiences. We see stories as a valuable way for people to construct personal identity and gain self efficacy, which in turn inspires action for development at both the personal and community level.