Let’s start telling your story. It’s an easy process. Look at all you have written from your mind map of your earliest memories.* Do you see any trends or similarities? Pick out five days to develop into your story path. Gather five sheets of loose leaf and on each page write My Cocooning World, your name and the date. Then number the paper sheets one through five.
Using the life of President John F. Kennedy as an example, page one would be an event at 16 on February 4th, 1934 when he gets a two month illness, during which his parents don’t visit him. This realization demonstrated that nobody is coming to save him, a foreshadow for WWII.
On page two of JFK’s life path could be how initially he couldn’t get into the armed forces because of health issues but his father knew the right people and JFK becomes the captain of PT 109 at 26 in the Solomon Islands. JFK on August 1, 1943, is attacked by the Japanese and must rescue his crew. Learning from past experience that his parents or the Navy are not coming to save him JFK pulls one of his injured men with a life vest strap between his teeth and swims him to an island three hours away while the rest of his men swim beside them. Later, he writes a message on a coconut shell and gives it to a passing fisherman praying that it would get to the Navy. It does and they are rescued. Kennedy says to his friend and rescuer, Ted Robinson, “Where have you guys been? I’ve been at this bus stop for a week!”
Page three will be September 26, 1960, when JFK decides to walk out of the building minutes before the first ever televised political debate, ruffling the composure of Richard M. Nixon then Vice-President of the United States. JFK always liked to get some fresh air and was of course back in time to begin the debate.
Page four a good choice is his forty-fifth birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City when Marilyn Monroe sang, “Happy Birthday Mr. President” in a dress she was sewn into on May 19th, 1962.
Finally, page five is howJFK handled the Cuban Missile Crisis on October 28th, 1962, decides to ignore Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev’s second telegram after taking a swim to think about the situation.
Now, using the five events in your life that you have selected write what you remember but don’t think about spelling or grammar. Write legibly as quickly as you can. Rewrite tomorrow. It’s best that you don’t get frustrated and stop.
*Mind map was developed in a previous post. Circle your name on the center of a piece of paper then draw arrows outwards from it writing down your earliest memories to your most recent ones. You will select five of these for this exercise.
