The first thing Hyejin and I covered was an essay I had assigned her from David Sedaris’ book Me Talk Pretty One Day. I tried to pick a story with minimal cultural references, and she seemed to pick up most of the language pretty easily. I explained what “no strings attached,” means, as well as “pull yourself together.” It’s those small idioms that catch her up the most, but they’re pretty fun to unfold for explanation—I've never had to think of the real meanings before.
We then covered a detailed scene she had written the assignment I had given her. It was about a ghost that confronted her the night after an accident she had been in as a child. She was able to describe the events pretty well, but I tried to explain I wanted her to dig into the loaded sentences a bit more, unfolding each of the senses in detail. I absolutely loved her story, because it was unique, and an experience that was solely hers. Even if her family didn’t believe her, she knew exactly what she felt that night, I told her to try to dig deeper for those emotions. She hesitated, and then psychologist Erik took a step out. She was reluctant to agree on a revision, because she mentioned how creepy the event had been for her, and she didn’t like reaching for those specific details.
I mentioned that I also have stories that have been pushed into the writer's vault, because sometimes it’s difficult to revisit certain occasions. But at the same time, I emphasized that writing has its therapeutic effects. Once you unload the events in your mind, you must reevaluate your past self, as well as your current self. You’re making sense of the scene with a new set of eyes, and that’s the powerful aspect of it. The past can’t haunt you, unless you allow it to.
We veered off topic a bit, sharing a few personal stories, but she left the lesson with a little more passion than she had entered. She mentioned how exciting the session had been, and I couldn’t help but to feel the same way.
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