Lesson #28: BEING IN THE MOMENT: "A Love Not Meant For Me"- Aryana Rose

It’s your pal, Storytelling School with The Moth! As we all try to find our new normal, we hope we can bring you a bit of joy, intrigue, and empathy. For this week’s blog, we’re taking a look at a story about loving someone and letting them go.  After this post, we will be moving to a once-a-month blog for the rest of the year, coming out on the second Tuesday of the month. Please look for our next post on Tuesday, Sept. 8th. We hope you continue to enjoy, learn, and connect with each other through this series.

This week’s Storytelling School story is:

“A Love Not Meant For Me” by Aryana Rose

You can read the transcript of Aryana’s story here.

After you’ve watched and read the story, you can do the following activities: 

Talk to each other about Aryana’s story. 

For each post, we’ll highlight a different crafting strategy for how to make your story compelling. For this post, we’ll focus on BEING IN THE MOMENT. In The Moth’s Education program, we tell our storytellers that they don’t have to worry about forgetting what they’re going to say when they perform, because all they have to do is remember what happened and tell us about it. This is the beauty of a true, personal story. It does not need to be memorized;, it just needs to be remembered in detail. If a teller can do that, the audience feels invited to join them in an expressive, emotional experience. 

• Aryana is so present to her emotions and her memories in this telling. Watching her, you can tell that she is reliving many of the moments of this story as she tells. How does that affect you as a listener? 

• What did you notice when Aryana told the audience she was nervous? How did the audience respond? How did admitting her nerves change Aryana’s delivery?

Write or tell your own story.

At The Moth, we believe in celebrating the diversity and commonality of human experience. Often, listening to someone’s story will remind us of a story from our own lives. While you almost definitely have not had Aryana’s exact experience, it still may have reminded you of a story from your own life. Get inspired by these prompt questions to tell your own story!

• Tell us about a time you met someone extraordinary

• Tell us about a time you had to deliberate before you said yes

• Tell us about a time you had to barricade your heart

• Tell us about a time you had to make a hard choice to support someone else’s dream

• Tell us about a time you played matchmaker

• Tell us about a time you suddenly saw that years had gone by

• Tell us about a time you let go

Activity

• Have you ever felt like you had a fairy in your life, who watched over you or helped make something happen? Send a little thanks to them, whether physically, virtually, or just in your mind.

Share this post with a friend!

And check back Tuesday, September 8th for another story.

For more Moth stories and storytelling prompts, binge the entire All Together Now: Fridays with The Moth series where ever you listen to your podcast.

Storyteller bio

Aryana Rose spent most of her adult life in France and is now living in the United States. She works as a private assistant and in her time enjoys Free Style dancing, travelling, and deeply exploring her friends’ psyches.

The Moth Education Program works with young people and educators to build community through storytelling workshops, performances and innovative resources. To learn more, visit themoth.org/education

The Moth Education Program is made possible by generous support from The Kresge Foundation, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Charitable Trust, the Kate Spade New York Foundation, and Alice Gottesman. 

Additional program support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the New York State Council on the Arts, ConEdison, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.