"Your dreams should tower over the giraffes and soar above the vultures." - Naf the elephant

     Hello and welcome back to my blog! I am returning with my second Action Project for Stories class. What kind of story, you ask? In this unit, we are focused on fables, and answering questions about what qualities make up this variation of story-telling. There are a few elements to keep in mind: fables are typically short stories that intend to teach a moral or lesson. Additionally, fables consist of anthropomorphic characters, or animals with human-like qualities. My fable, and the morals it surrounds, has a lot to do with my personal values. (Values being things or ideas that we appreciate and strive for). One value of mine is inner harmony or self-actualization. I recently became interested in this for reasons unrelated to my fable, but these are examples of values I strive towards. In an effort to turn these into active values, I thought telling a story would be an effective way to simplify these complex topics. As you will read, my fable takes place in Somalia, so the character names are different from my previous action projects. You will soon meet Naf and Raadso, and there is more context behind their names. The national language of Somalia is Somali, and Naf means "self." Raadso means "seek." Aside from that, I tried to make my fable pretty straightforward, something that a younger person can understand. Fables, after all, are typically told to children. 

     In class, we even had a guest, a professional storyteller! Ms. Lansana shared her own interpretation of fables and other stories. In the end, she would tell us the moral and invite us to share other interpretations. The "oral art form" is an engaging way to learn and pass on important lessons. 

    Pertaining to self-actualization are the several steps within the process itself. This includes basic and physiological needs. If you are familiar with my posts from last year's "Who Am I?" course, you would recognize that these ideas are based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. So, I invite you to read my interpretation of this process!