The Untold Story

You are to write a short essay from a story that a relative or loved-one tells you.

This is taken from an assignment I was required to do as a senior in high school, but for me, it had to become a much longer (10-page) essay. For it, I was required to ask a relative about their life and to record many hours of our conversation. I have lost a lot of this, but the unique bond it helped solidify with my grandmother lasted the rest of her life, and will continue through my own, and the reasoning is a sad one: we all have stories, and we're dying to let others know about them, but sometimes we really need someone to just ask us to, "tell me a story."

Your assignment is to ask a relative (why NOT call a grandparent during the pandemic? They'd love to hear from you!) to tell you a story, preferably one they've never told anyone before. Make sure they understand it's for a school assignment, and in case they tell you something potentially incriminating (always a danger in nonfiction), protect the identities of those you love. You do not have to make an audio record of it, but instead write it down, and try to think of it as a short story: about a page-long, this time. As you listen and write this, be as faithful and honest as you can to the original story. That means, if you weren't there, you cannot "be" that person, and you probably cannot know what they were thinking, so don't make up facts or plot elements.

Because anything could be the subject of your first essay, take this seriously. You might experience a wonderful connection and get a bigger, powerful essay out of this!