Photo Credit: N. Bataev
Being a foreign correspondent in one’s life empowers and inspires one to share experiences with others in a way that provides a window into another’s life.
I recently listened to a TED Talks Daily podcast titled “How to Find Creativity and Purpose in the Face of Adversity,” featuring Suleika Jaouad, the author of an Emmy Award-winning column in the New York Times, “Life, Interrupted,” and the memoir Between Two Kingdoms. The works chronicled her journey and perspective as a patient diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and her recovery.
Her story impressed me. Jaouad first confronted leukemia in her early 20s when she had plans to become a journalist, a foreign correspondent specifically. However, her plans were put on hold as she was imprisoned in a hospital room due to her illness. She began to write about her experiences in “Life, Interrupted” from the confines of her hospital room and realized that she had become a foreign correspondent. She was reporting from a foreign location and situation that few had traveled.
She spoke candidly about her leukemia relapse, which required a second bone marrow transplant. Her life was again on hold because of the illness, and she had to be comfortable with her own company and her quiet periods. She couldn’t do the activities she wanted, like writing and reading, and instead surrendered to her limitations and pivoted to the things she could do, like painting. Her circumstances filled her with a lack of control and led to a belief that “survival is its own kind of creative act.”
Becoming a Foreign Correspondent in Your Own Life
While her story is rich with many messages about life, struggling with illness, and finding one’s creativity even under the direst of circumstances, the idea of being a foreign correspondent in one’s life is an insightful concept. We all have unique aspects of our lives to share, and we all live and travel figuratively and literally in different spaces than others. Our experiences are our own and are thus unique. Being a foreign correspondent in one’s life empowers and inspires one to share experiences with others in a way that provides a window into another’s life.
Connecting Through Personal Stories
As we share our personal experiences and learn about each other, these experiences become less foreign and more relatable. One begins to appreciate where others are coming from and what their journey has required. As we absorb the impact of these bulletins from a foreign space, we can learn how to apply the lessons and perspectives of others’ journeys to help us navigate our own. While not all of us experience a battle with leukemia, we all have a story to tell from the frontline of our own lives that others can appreciate and learn from.
