Let’s Talk Story is a program that invites you to share an anecdote from your lived experiences in the form of a live conversation, short oral history, or written essay. The goal is to keep a record that connects the past to the present, and bring our stories to life. Participate
LEX Drops Raging Ego
Today’s the day that you may or may not have known you’ve been waiting for: LEX the Lexicon Artist has dropped her debut album. Raging Ego rages in the best way possible, dipping into stories that feel simultaneously deeply personal, wholly relatable and uniquely LEX. This lyric from the track “Curse of Creativity” says it best: “I felt like I was reading your autobiography. With every track it was as if I was exploring your brain and inhabiting your every pleasure and absorbing your pain. I know that all your other listeners have felt like this too, but I’m privileged to have shared something special with you.” The sentiment is mutual, LEX. Meet the artist and entertainer behind the infectious rap rhymes in LEX’s personal essay.
A Need for Speed
Growing up, Alexander Larson had a need for speed. Make that Speed — the 1994 action film. It starred someone who looked like him. Keanu Reeves is one of the best known Hollywood actors who happens to be part Asian, significant when only one out of 20 speaking roles goes to Asians and only one percent land leading roles. Alexander writes about these memories and more in essay Larson’s personal essay.
The Company We Meet, the Family We Keep
Who’s your family? Sometimes it’s the people we choose, and sometimes it’s those we’re born to. In the case of two Colorado State University students, these relationships are works in progress. Myvy Ngo talks about the evolution of her relationship with her parents who immigrated from Vietnam, and another discusses the familial roles different family members and friends have played at various times in her life. Listen to their conversation above, or read the full transcript.
Our Town
We may leave the places we’re from, but they often have lasting impacts on the people we become. Allie Hoog, a Human Development and Family Studies major, and Anna Porter, majoring in Political Science and International Studies, reflect on what it was like to grow up in small towns in New Mexico and Ohio respectively before becoming students at Colorado State University. Listen to their conversation, or read the transcript.
Playing with Convention
Two students at Colorado State University reflect on breaking and following convention. In Taylor Coulter’s case, a social work major, it came naturally with the freedom for her to explore from an early age. Until recent years, the other student found that they were performing to follow convention, putting pressure on them and their relationship with their sister. Listen to these students talk about their journeys using the media player above, or read the conversation.
Traditions Old and New
Even without tangible rituals that tie us to those of our ancestors, we crave connection to our past. Colorado State University GLBTQQA Resource Center Assistant Director Emily Ambrose and third-year student Meaghan Booth (who also works as the center’s Inclusive Community Assistant) explore what this looks like for them, as well as new traditions they’d like to see passed on to future generations. Listen to their conversation using the media player above, or read the full transcript.
Things Said, Things Unsaid
Colorado State University GLBTQQA Resource Center Director Aaric Guerriero and second year journalism student Troy Wilkinson discuss the power of languages. We are all fluent in many, giving us access to certain communities. However, not being privy to a language can result in us being removed from the people closest to us. Full transcript.
What’s in a name?
What’s in a name? A whole lot of difference. Colorado State University’s Jaysun Usher, a fourth year student studying Sociology, and a second year student find there’s a discrepancy between how they’re seen on paper and in the real world. Full transcript.
The Silk Knots Project 