Ahoyhoy™,
People love stories. Stories range from borderline useless to life-changing. You reminisce about the good ones, and wish you could erase (some of) the awful ones—from your memory or (even) existence…
People’s life experiences shape how they perceive each story—so your perspective about one differs from others’. Each person experiences life differently, so those perspectives might differ so much that one story becomes a few different stories—each tailored to the individual.
Stories change over time. Sometimes your own perspective shifts naturally with time—perhaps new information changes your view about a story; other times, you change as a person which changes your perception of a story: a story that you might’ve liked only a day ago might now bore or upset you. Likewise, a story that bored or upset you for decades might’ve transformed into one you like (or even love).
NOTE: Admittedly, some stories change so little that they don't functionally change. Those stories bore me, so I aggressively (try to) avoid them. Unfortunately, they're unavoidable. Worse yet, I feel like that about most stories… Remember my post where I mention NPC's? Yes, that's how intensely I feel about this…Perspective matters. Few stories are universally good or universally bad; the truth lies somewhere in between: context governs whether or not a story’s good or bad. A story you find good, someone else might find awful; it goes the other way too…
When enough people care about a story, it starts mattering. When a story starts mattering, people pay attention. How much the story matters to people—more specifically, people who matter—influences how much attention they pay. If a story matters a lot to someone, they pay more attention. If that someone matters, more people start paying attention to the story—after all, if someone who matters cares about something, surely it must also matter, right?
NOTE: Dear reader, I'm talking to you—not Shirley.Ultimately, not all stories matter to everyone, but every story matters to someone.
Thank you for your time,
Roybert S. Henanigans
P.S. 96: I’ve updated my Contact Me page explaining how you can help me if you choose to. This includes a messaging form, my gmail address, my Twitter account, and a donation button to my Ko-Fi page. I’ll update specifics gradually. If there’s one thing I could ask for above all else, I’d ask for two. Then I’d use one of those two to say that the best way to help is to share my work with someone.
P.S. 97: On a serious note, thank you so much for reading—it truly means the world to me.
justcallmeroybert 