Pallavi in 10 1/2 Sentences
Some writing therapy for you
Hola Global Jigsaw Friends,
I run an occasional creative writing workshop at a university in Madrid. In the course, we focus on excavating stories from the fragments of our own lives. Most narratives are remembered as, and rendered in, a smooth arc that starts at the beginning and ends at the conclusion. But their reality is always the product of bricolage. There is an unsullied purity in the recalled story of life’s significant journeys: parenthood, loss, illness, love. Yet, our narrative arcs - the story of our life that we tell ourselves when we are provoked to do so by photos or grandchildren- are in fact a collage of greatest hits and lows.
With this truth as a starting point, I ask my workshopees to write an introduction to themselves in ten-and-a-half sentences (inspired by the title of this Julian Barnes novel). These are meant to be anarchic fragments of self that collectively impart to the reader a sense impression of the person, rather than a chronological or otherwise ordered biography.
I set myself this exercise for today’s post and would encourage you, dear reader, to do the same. If you do, please post the results in the the comments section. I can’t wait to get to know you better.
1) If I weren’t a writer, I would make nature documentaries
2) I don’t sleep well.
3) The loss of my mother a year and a half ago, makes me catch my breath every single day.
4) I want to be as gracious to my family as I am towards my friends.
5) There is no better feeling than when I write what I believe to be a really good sentence –surprising, truthful, transparent.
6) I enjoy people, I do not enjoy clubbing.
7) I spend more time wading through shades of gray, than standing firm on white or black.
8) I have enjoyed every country that I have ever visited.
9) The lack of eyebrows bothered me more than the lack of hair on my head during chemotherapy.
10) I am comfortable with the idea of randomness.
10 1/2) It was my birthday last week and
Can’t wait to get to know you better in 10-and-a-half sentences.
Hasta luego,
xo
Pallavi
So I now know you, I think. And my 11th sentence would have been your 9th. I hope we can take a walk together one day ❤️
1. I feel absolutely blessed and privileged to spend a lot of time each day with my wife and kids
2. I'm empathetic to a fault, so much so that it surprises me how I managed to cope through many of life's cruelties and never turned ruthless
3. I have a curated list of music and movies that keep me refreshed now and then
4. I've always aspired to be an indie filmmaker
5. One of my greatest fears is to have lived an inconsequential life
6. 'Imposter Syndrome' was perhaps coined for me, I am my own biggest critic
7. I savour what some would consider the 'ordinary' things and moments in life
8. I dream about my father reconnecting with us at least once a year
9. I love reading memoirs and biographies/ autobiographies, more than any other category
10. Either the desert (as in childhood) or hilly areas in the immediate environment are the relaxing environment for the place I can comfortably reside in, plain urban areas irk me
10 1/2. I wish I could travel the world but...