Holly Robinson Peete Instagram – Hey April!! #Repost from @morganharpernichols • Words to repeat to yourself in April 💛 The theme of this month is ‘To Engage With A Story’: storylines, plot twists, witness how it all unfolds line by line, page by page… — As I enter the last full month of my grad program where I’ve been studying interactive art and narratives, the theme of ‘stories’ feels very fitting as I’ve been deep in studying the role of narrative in our lives (both nonfiction and fiction). These words are crafted to give you something to reflect on, one line at a time, which is what we must do to read anything: absorb each word individually, then connect them in sequence. This process allows us to discover the story, idea, or thought the text is slowly revealed. I put these words together in the same way I approach writing fiction (I wouldn’t call myself a “fiction writer” but writing fiction is a huge part of my process!): I consider how each phrase is a part of something bigger. And by thinking how a series of many moments, whether big or small, can all be brought together to shape characters, settings, landscapes, relationships, themes––we start to see how all of this can come together in ways we didn’t expect, like life. Thinking of life as a story empowers you to be more mindful of how things unfold over time. You might notice recurring themes or how seemingly insignificant moments play into a larger picture. And also, just like reading a story, if you don’t put all of those things together in real-time, that doesn’t mean you still can’t be present to every moment of dialogue, every scene, every transition, however you can. What matters is being present, line by line…being a part of a story, unfolding with time. So as you read through these words each day, you will find words like “storylines” and “chapter” and they are all there for a reason: subtle, day invitations to engage with a story, one day at a time. As always, I recommend seeing each phrase as a prompt––make them your own, if you’d like! You can even write them in your journal and add to them as you go. __ Download free printable desktop calendar versions of this at the link in bio!->@morganharpernichols