Experiences Shared Through Human Loan Project

Everyone has their own story which can be easy or difficult. When people talk about good news or happiness, they can talk to others who are not close friends without hesitation.

However, it is too difficult to talk to people about the hardships that they went through or are experiencing now. So, there was an opportunity to share stories about adversity. On Saturday, Oct. 24, there was a human loan project where people could “loan” their experiences or stories for 30 to 45 minutes and expand their perspective through sharing. The topics people could ‘loan’ varied from stepping out of comfort zones, mental illness, and growing up in a divorced or blended family. Two stories in particular discussed loneliness and sadness and stepping out of the comfort zone.

Every person has different personalities and thoughts. However, most people from the storyteller country do not accept diversity. If someone is not conventional, they exclude him. He was different from others in the country, so other people did not understand him and ignored him as a result.

Because of this, he went through a hard time. He felt sad and lonely because he had to read others’ minds to gage their perception of him. He felt that he was under pressure to meet people’s expectations. He decided to go abroad to study fashion. He wants to create his own brand. He realized that achieving his dream would not be easy and it makes him lonely. It makes him depressed, but sometimes it becomes motivation to keep going.

The student was a high school teacher. However, it was not good fit for her. She decided to quit her job and enter the university. When she was in her junior year, she wanted to go study abroad, but her parents did not permit it. At that time, she had only $50 and could not spend the extra money. However, she did not think about the financial problem and went to Luxembourg. People in that country use four different languages: German, French, English and Luxembourgish. She stayed with a family that included a little girl in the home. She learned different languages from the girl, and in return she taught the girl English. It was difficult to learn foreign languages, but she learned a lesson from the experience: if you do not try new things or take risks, there would be nothing to gain. “Play it out and continue to try.”