My Backstory

Donald Miller's Storyline conference is about writing a good life story and is based on his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. The idea is to look at your life as you would read a story, with you as the main character, and discover whether you are living the ultimate story that you can be living. One of the exercises at his conference is to outline plot turns in your life, much like a writer would do for a novel, and discover your backstory. I have outlined mine below for your viewing pleasure, and I'd encourage you to do the same, as it proves to be very fun!

Exercise One 

List all the major plot turns in your life.

Consider the following questions when plotting:
1) Who has had the greatest effect on your life?
2) What is your single greatest accomplishment?
3) What was the saddest day of your life?
4) What were the educational milestones of your life?
5) What was your first real job?
6) What are your greatest relational memories?
7) Have you lost somebody you love?
8) What was your greatest mistake?

Plot Turn #1- After a year of attending community college, I decided to get away from a stagnant environment and leave home to attend college in Denton. This experience allowed me to grow independent and to see what I was really made of. There was heartache in this experience being away from home, but I survived and grew alot. I started the Fashion Design program and discovered how far my artistic talent could take me and how limited I was compared to other designers. College was a confusing time of figuring out which interests I wanted to pursue.

Plot Turn #2- My boyfriend of 4 years got a girl pregnant and didn't tell me; I had to find out from a friend. Before this experience, nothing tragic had ever happened to me. My life was pretty much sunshine and rainbows with a little bit of rain, but this brought a terrible storm. I'm glad I allowed myself time to grieve, but being away from my support system in Houston really affected my healing.

Plot Turn #3- Getting involved with the wrong sort of guy after a hard breakup was the biggest plot turn of my life. Before this, I was a pretty naive girl, believing that only good could ever come to me and that I was strong enough to handle any adversity. This relationship proved otherwise. I allowed myself to sink further and further into a damaging relationship until I couldn't get myself out, and I found myself at rock bottom with nowhere else to turn except up. I have reaped the consequences ever since, but it brought me closer to God, so I can't say I completely regret it.

Plot Turn #4- Joining a Christian community my last year of college was a plot turn in a positive direction. I met wonderful Christian women who showed me what a real relationship with Jesus looked like and what kind of love I deserved. With their support I was able to let go of that damaging relationship and make baby steps towards God. I also began to trust people again and met Christian men who were not after "one thing."

Plot Turn #5- Moving home after college was rough and depressing the first couple of months. Trying to come back to a home that no longer felt like home, I wanted to return to Dallas to the Christian community I had gotten involved in. I was unable to find a job with my degree, and I started working at the mall. To me, that was the lowest of low. My aunt and uncle sent me to Europe, which was perfectly timed and much needed to get away from negative people and environments. I found much inspiration and strength on that trip, and when I came back, I started a full time job as a retail Merchandiser. I made new friends, let go of my ex and his social group, and met a guy who became my muse. Although the love was never requited, I learned so much from his strength and maturity and started to believe that there were good guys out there and realized that I could, indeed, fall in love again. My experiences at that job were fun and opened my heart up and also pushed me to find a career that I really enjoyed.

Plot Turn #6- Moving to Austin has been another major plot turn in my life. If I had chosen to stay in Houston, absolutely nothing would be as it is now. Although the experience has been strewn with challenges and difficulties, I held on tight through it all, and God has rewarded my perseverance. I found so much recovery and healing, grew a deeper understanding and faith in God, and more importantly, started to believe in myself and my dreams again. The lessons learned here will carry me for a lifetime. And I also get to live in a beautiful place (see picture below).

So there we have it folks. There's my life in a nutshell. It seems my life has been more exciting that I thought. Stay tuned for the next exercise, where we find redemption in our negative plot turns.