Owning Our Story: How Senior Meetings Taught Me Courage

By Courtney Ewing, college adviser for Ayden Grifton High School in Pitt County, N.C.

Every night for the past month, I have been reading Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection. While I curl up at night and lose myself in Brown’s healing words of ordinary courage, vulnerability and wholehearted living, I get to see firsthand the quote above (in the subtitle) in my students each day, as they truly live out bravery in owning their stories.

As a new adviser, the prospect of meeting with each senior at Ayden-Grifton was both exciting and daunting. While I am a true extrovert and love meeting new people, I fretted over the logistical pieces, pouring over my schedules every hour to make sure they were perfect. I also grew nervous about whether or not students would feel comfortable sharing their post-graduation plans with me — after all, it is terrifying to share your hopes and dreams with someone, let alone someone you just met moments ago! My plan was to start Tuesday, September 6, and I reasoned with my fears that I had plenty of time until then.

Before I knew it, I heard the clatter of the first period bell ring. Time to meet with seniors.

It did not take too long for me to realize that these seniors were eager to share with me. They really wanted me to know their backgrounds, where they came from, who inspired them to want to pursue certain careers. They wanted me to know that their parent went to a certain university and they wanted to carry on that tradition. They wanted me to know that neither of their parents had attended a four-year college, and wanted them to be the first. They wanted me to know about the music they created on GarageBand after school. They wanted me to know that they lit up instantly upon holding a basketball. They wanted me to know about their passion for helping teenagers navigate the emotional highs and lows of high school. They wanted me to know they had their life planned out by the second. They wanted me to know that they had no idea what to do after high school.

Each of these seniors courageously owned their story and wanted to invite someone else into it. Of course, I was honored that these students wanted to invite me to walk alongside them in their hopes and dreams. It excites me, knowing that these seniors, who can own their stories now, will walk into whatever post-high school pathway they choose with that confidence. They own their stories. They will own their stories in college, in the workforce and in the military.