By: Chelsea Kibbe, MSW – Primary Therapist

In our modern era of technological connection, fast pace, and pressure for performance; we lack intimacy of shared experience. Often, we feel we are alone in our hardships. At Dragonfly Transitions, students are given the assignment of writing their life story.  This provides a unique opportunity to make meaning of their past through acknowledgment of their journey, identification of patterns, and recognition of where they are accountable.   

Sharing ourselves is a vulnerable process. In the words of Brene Brown:  

“True belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”  

The theme of Phase 1 at Dragonfly is “Acceptance.” Students work with their therapist and mentor to create a life story during this phase. This process can take time, as it forces us to look at our sufferings, successes, and level of self-acceptance. Commonly, students narrate a life story, but there is equal power in a student processing with the use of art such as drawing, poetry, and song. Telling your story is vulnerable and sharing your art with the world is an act of exposure. 

Through sharing with the community, we take ownership of our path and find that people, even those we wouldn’t expect, relate with pieces of us, and hopefully, we find we are not alone in our experience to make meaning of suffering. 

Below is an example of a creative and untraditional life story recently completed by a student.  Thanks for sharing your work!