Six Word Memoirs on Life Stories

jl333 says,

Depends on the situation. However, I feel people wouldn't share personal info unless they felt really comfortable sharing Your students must of felt that you were trustworthy to share such personal information. I'd take that as a compliment Bevvie

Bevvie says,

Thanks, Jl333. Sharing with me one on one I was used to, but sharing with me and 30 other students was a bit too revealing. But I must add that the students were always caring and kind in class.

Wench says,

If they were comfortable sharing, they must have felt that it wasn't too much to share. This is a question that really cannot be answered objectively.

On the other hand, I suppose someone can regret the level of comfort they felt at some point, if that feeling of safety is abused, belittled or betrayed.

Wench says,

In high school, I took a college English composition course. I absolutely loved my teacher - I later took poetry courses with her father, who very quickly became my most beloved teacher of all time. In the English composition class one evening, we somehow came across the topic of date rape. One of the students very candidly said that she had been raped. I was shocked - that she said it without crying, without blushing with shame, without any apparent difficulty at all. It wasn't until years later, after experiencing my own share of life-altering events, that I understood her better.

There are some things we never get over. They haunt us for the rest of our lives. But we have to find ways to get through each day, and for those who are drawn to writing as a creative outlet, there may be a tendency to feel like the safest place to work through those feelings is among other writers. Knowing firsthand, now, how painful it can be NOT to have a place to share, the incredible weight lifted when you find a place you feel safe is indescribable.

Today we attended the baptism of my niece at the church where I was raised. During the sermon, the pastor spoke about the three children he and his wife had lost to miscarriages. My sister and I both cried and afterward, exchanged one very brief, very meaningful glance. But I said nothing to my parents. It's possible I will go the rest of my life without telling them about the child I lost. But I felt safe telling the people here. I value the feeling of safety here greatly. I hope that it doesn't upset people that I've felt safe sharing things here that I haven't felt safe sharing elsewhere - if so, I apologize. I also hope that the feeling of safety that exists here is never broken.

Dragonflower says,

I have an acquaintance I met who is really into TMI. I avoid her now because she doesn't think she's oversharing. I told her that some things I don't want to know about, and she just looks puzzled and continues on. I found out through others who know her, she does that. Finds someone nice and figures they won't say anything to stop her TMI habit.

In classes I have attended, there have been other students who share stuff, but when I go to talk to them later, because I've had the same experience, they won't say anything more. That feels wierd to me then, like they're just interested in unloading, not really sharing, and they have used that shared class space for a captive audience. My poetry group is like that alot of the time. I guess in those instances, I don't feel it is safe anymore because of what I might be forced to hear. I have got up and left. Quietly, like I have an appt or something, not like I'm upset. I want to tell the poetry leader it starts to feel like a group therapy session instead of poetry, but I haven't yet. I may just find new group. Opposite problem with my writing group; they don't say anything. I'll find a happy medium.

It is probably difficult being a facilitator, because you never know what someone will say.

marymc says,

I'm not a warm fuzzy, so it always startles me when someone confides in me. That said, I do think some people are drawn to the no nonsense persona I can tend to project. I figure if someone has the guts to get personal, they must want an honest opinion and not platitudes. I like knowing where I stand. Some others must also.

ba_miracle says,

I do not have enough couth to feel as though someone has revealed too much about themselves. I appreciate the stories that most people feel should have been kept private because they are typically the ones to shed light on difficult topics.

In business and service clubs my past was no secret but the details were not something I had discussed openly.

There have been "occasions" where I personally wished to have shared something less bluntly.