Teen Breathe Magazine – Issue 33

In this issue: Motivation nation – All the world’s a stage – Are we there yet? – Magic numbers – There’s no such thing as normal – Mythologise your life – Pause before sharing

Stories are, at their very core, a means of sharing experiences. Storytelling is how humans communicate their history, handing it down throughout generations.

You might use familiar narratives to make sense of the world around you. Everyone has stories they tell themselves about their own lives. Having a script can be a soothing tool.

As common themes emerge, it’s natural to fit them into a framework. Some of these structures are embraced so widely they’ve become myths or folklore – from fairy tales and folk art to classic jokes and sayings about the weather.

Of course, not everything that’s shared is true, and it’s important now to bear that in mind online. But the sheer enjoyment of sharing stories has never really gone away.

You can do it in communal ways, such as going to the theatre. There you’ll find a chance to connect with the people on stage in front of you, and those around you.

But some say you can’t beat curling up with a good book. It might seem solitary, but reading someone’s life story opens up new points of view in quite an intimate way. You can relax in peace and quiet, while accessing a whole new world even as you retreat from the one outside.

There’s a reason people still take books away on holiday. Whatever’s on the page is an escape from the everyday, which is what a vacation is meant to be about, after all. Read on…

Cover Illustration: Charly Clements