In 2019, simply after graduating from the College of Georgia, I used to be supplied a full experience to a three-year MFA program. It appeared just like the pure subsequent step—I wished to turn into a full-time visible artist.
However after many sleepless nights, I declined. I informed family and friends the identical factor I stated to the MFA program, “I need to discover the world and search real-life experiences. I’m afraid academia would possibly sterilize my work.”
Although I wasn’t precisely certain what I meant by “real-life experiences,” I’d romanticized journey and the unknown—locations and other people I hadn’t met. I hoped to stay a life wealthy with spirituality and self-discovery, so I may pour that richness into my artwork.
Six years later—after instructing in Colorado, Spain, and New York Metropolis—I spotted I’d overlooked that plan.
Have you ever ever walked down an unintended path, not since you couldn’t flip again, however out of inertia? That was me.
The dream of changing into an artist started to really feel out of attain—one thing I may aspire to however by no means really attain.
Then I discovered a job as a Facilitator for the StoryCorps Cell Tour program.
Working for StoryCorps seems like a fever dream, the place time blurs and other people come and go like shadows.
One man who sat within the cellular sales space nonetheless haunts my thoughts. Wrongfully incarcerated for 60 years in Angola—the bloodiest jail in America—he had no resentment or anger, solely hope. At 80, all he wished was to search out the love of his life.
Listening to his delicate voice, emotion poured out of me unexpectedly. I couldn’t cease crying that night time. How can the world be so merciless? I requested myself. However he didn’t ask that query. He was merely grateful to have made it out and cherished the life he had left. Even after shedding his total household, he smiled, wearing his favourite outfit and golden chains.
Different voices echo in my thoughts—like a person who wished to flee himself and his emotions of inadequacy—till he realized you’ll be able to’t outrun your self. You will need to face and embrace who you might be with out judgment.
He’s now a profitable artist within the Utah desert, the place the wind animates his sculptures. His grey hair fits the childlike marvel he nonetheless carries.
Gathering tales teaches me about myself—by means of the lives of others, their pleasure, ache, and the whole lot between.
I by no means had grandparents to inform me tales, so I discovered tales to name my very own—ones I hope to inform my grandchildren sometime.
Life on the street is uncooked and philosophical, but additionally solitary, pushing me to search out refuge inside myself.
At nights, I’ve discovered myself in Kentucky, the desert of St. George, or a loft close to the Edmund Pettus Bridge—searching with a suitcase and stressed pleasure to forge my path.
If there’s one factor I’ve realized, it’s that there is no such thing as a “regular” path.
I’ve met individuals who discovered love of their 40s, spent all their financial savings to see the world one final time after shedding their sight, and who discovered house in international lands.
So now I’ve been questioning: why write my story in stone, when it’s nonetheless being written?
“I crave real-life experiences,” I typed six years in the past to the MFA workplace I declined.
I’m now on the finish of my one-year StoryCorps contract, carrying my very own story and knowledge from those that shared theirs.
I’m a extra full human—and a greater artist, unafraid of errors as a result of they add coloration to tales.
I by no means attended grad college, however I’m about to graduate—from story collector to storyteller.
Thanks to those that made this journey attainable, to the storytellers who perceive the facility of a narrative, and to the MFA program I as soon as declined: thanks for believing in me. I imagine in myself now, too.
It solely took a visit world wide—and again—and a pair of listening ears.
Joan brings curiosity, empathy, and a deep sense of presence to the StoryCorps Cell Tour. As a facilitator, he guides members by means of their conversations, serving to them really feel seen, heard, and supported whereas capturing tales that may in any other case go untold.
His method is rooted within the perception that each voice issues, and that listening carefully to the experiences of others can reveal common truths about resilience, hope, and human connection.
On the street, Joan doesn’t simply document tales—he witnesses them, carrying the teachings and views of every dialog with him as he travels from city to city.
