All the Feels: How Strong Emotions Create Even Stronger Stories

When I was seven years old I went with my family to watch “Field of Dreams” at the Drive in Theater. If you haven’t seen the movie then A) skip ahead to avoid spoilers or B) rent it and watch it RIGHT NOW because what have you been doing with your life since 1989?Basically, Kevin Costner receives mystical inspiration to build a ballpark in his corn-field, creating a time and space portal so that dead dudes can play baseball. It’s a place where different dimensions overlap. Where aging men can be young again, where the shamed members of the 1915 “Black Sox Scandal” who have passed on can redeem their past glories and live in a perfect world.But there are rules to the Field of Dreams. There are boundaries. Once a player leaves, there is no return. So when the character “Doc” crosses the territory of the baseball diamond to help a sick little girl (basically sacrificing his shangri-la for someone else), I sat in the back of my parent’s Dodge mini-van and cried inconsolably. “He can never go back,” I sobbed in guttural, gasping breaths, “He…can…never…go…BACK.”

Y’all, to say I’m a feeler would be an understatement.

Every fallen bird I tried to save as a kid, every lonely person holding a cardboard sign, every song that speaks of desperation and loss, every image I’ve ever seen of pain and sorrow, every beer commercial where a man reunites with his lost dog--every emotional thing gets arrowed straight into the messy cry button of my heart. Luckily, I have parents who didn’t freak out on their tender offspring, but encouraged me to express myself through music and art. (I mean, what else would you expect from hippies who met in a Christian rock group called “God Unlimited” in the 70’s?).So, growing up, I wrote. I got lost in the world I could create with my words. I wrote tiny books about animal adventures. I wrote neighborhood newspapers I passed out to the whole street. I wrote in journal after journal and filled endless college-ruled paper pages with angsty teen prose. I went to college and studied Sociology and wrote term papers. And then I started writing music. I loved the joy of creating a mix of words and melodies that would deeply connect with people. It wasn’t uncommon for audience members to approach me in tears, looking at me like their deepest feelings had been magically unearthed.  “It was like you’ve been reading my diary!” they’d say. (They’d also tell me “You should go on American Idol,” so maybe the emotional judgement wasn’t so deep after all.)It wasn’t until 15 years in music that I found a new and surprising way I could use my emotion, love of connection, and storytelling to touch people in an entirely different way.

Backstory: In 2006 I moved to Costa Rica to teach surfing at an All-Women’s Surf and Yoga camp called Pura Vida Adventures. (Yes, my life is random).

I got off the plane with my beat-up guitar and my suitcase, having no idea what to expect. But I fell in love with Santa Teresa, I fell in love with the people at PVA, and I fell DEEPLY in love with the magic of people coming to surf camp and changing their lives.Every woman (and sometimes dudes, at coed weeks) who came through that place had a story to tell and a truth to find, and as each season passed I grew more and more amazed with the way that this camp changed people. Not only did people go home rejuvenated, lighter, with sun-kissed skin and the taste of mango on their lips--they TRANSFORMED. They would quit soulless jobs, find the strength to leave abusive relationships, finally start the dream they’d been hiding away, begin a new passion, and ultimately reunite with their best selves.I loved being a part of this...and also had NO idea that my love for a place would turn into a completely new career.It happened one day a few years ago, when I was talking to my friend Tierza (the owner of the surfcamp) and she mentioned that she was frustrated with lack of attendance. I started looking at the surf school’s Facebook, Instagram, and all-around online presence...and it hit me: It didn’t match. The amazing place I had seen first hand--it wasn’t represented online.The incredible stories of changed lives--they weren’t clear in the copy.The TRUTH about the beauty of Costa Rica and the transformation of a week at PVA--it didn’t come across.And I wanted to make it come across, so I started writing copy that did. I had always been a storyteller in my own life...and I discovered I could do that for other people, too. I could help people project their true voices to the world, in their endeavors and empires.  I could help people show the authentic version of themselves to the audience they wanted to reach, in a way that created more opportunities, encouraged relationship, and supported impactful businesses.

I could essentially be a part of people’s dreams and visions becoming reality.

And that was it. I was hooked with helping others express their truth in an emotional, effective, and transformative way.

Do I sometimes wish I were a little more objective, a little more emotionally neutral? SURE. It’d be nice to watch scary movies and spend less time “processing” and not cry when you read a book about a lonely dinosaur to your nephew. But I honestly think we all have different gifts for a reason. Writers, CEOs, visionaries, feelers, planners, dreamers, storytellers--all thrown into a beautiful, crazy mix so we can work together and make BIG things happen. I love working at YHC because it gives me an opportunity to jump into that mix, use my gifts, and help other people rep THEIRS. After all: “If you build it, they will come.” And that’s the dream. :)

Want to build a dream with us? Connect with us right here to get strong AF copy on YOUR next project!

I can’t wait to hear your story and, you know...feel all the feels. :)Annie