Gwyneth Bao: Burning My Leg With Coffee

When choosing a story to tell, I eventually settled on an experience that has made me grow as a person

and influences my everyday actions. Nearly 5 years ago, I knocked over a cup of hot coffee onto my leg,

which ended up sending me to the ER. While I’ve always been fairly open about the experience, I’ve

never thought about the lessons I’ve learned from it until I started brainstorming my story.

By telling my story to my classmates, I’ve learned the importance of connecting your experience with

others. I genuinely love how storytelling offers an opportunity for different, unique perspectives into a

person’s character. Along with that, I found it easiest to set a few mental checkpoints in my mind as I’m

telling the story to make sure I hit all the key details.

From listening to my classmates’ stories, I’ve noticed connections to my own experiences. Although I

might not have gone through the exact same situations, the lessons and morals that people have picked

up one way or another are both unique and actually quite similar. As for myself, this project really made

me reflect on how my past experiences have shaped my character - something I wouldn’t have done

without it.