Ex Fabula is all about telling your story, which includes the stories of its members, storytellers and volunteers. I had the pleasure of collaborating on this month’s blog with fellow volunteer Mia Liu. Here is her true, personal story about how she views Ex Fabula and her thoughts on this month’s Degrees of Separation StorySlam. — Kimberly 

Every event that I participate in is such a fresh experience for me. With different storytellers and themes, none of the storytelling events are the same. As an international volunteer, Ex Fabula surprises me in many ways; always something new every day. For example, tonight I received the Ex Fabula T-shirt assigned to volunteers. We have our own clothes to stand out. Volunteers are proud of their identity, proud of Ex Fabula. The color red implies that Ex Fabula will turn into a fire that lights up everyone’s heart.

Kimberly M Ousley and Mia Liu at Exfabula

Kimberly and Mia. Photo by Art Montes.

As usual, storytelling is the most attractive part of each event. Two very cute emcees (Dasha Kelly & Leah Delaney) guided everyone into tonight’s theme, Degrees of Separation. They are always able to capture the audience’s attention throughout the whole evening. Storytellers were picked out randomly and called to the stage. These stories, both happy and sad ones, belong to people’s cherished memories deep in their hearts. They might never share with someone else before but tonight, at this special stage, telling your stories is not just a show but an excellent way to say goodbye to bad things and share your happiness with others. You don’t just stay alone always and recall things yourself. Here, at Ex Fabula StorySlams, you are bound to others and have hundreds to listen to you.

I liked the first story the most. It was a happy and sad story from a father. He demonstrated the relationship between parents and children in different stages of life. I thought it would be a funny story at the beginning. However, when he talked about his daughter’s illness, I could tell how much it must have hurt him. He must have suffered a lot from her being in severe condition. We were so moved listening to his story and that’s the power of Ex Fabula—- healing and moving forward, sharing and expecting future.