Strangers With Voices
I moved to Spain all by myself 10 years ago. At first I had so much momentum to keep on going, no matter what obstacle I faced—and I faced plenty being all alone in a foreign country. Yet somehow, I lost my way. The one quality—my bright smile—that would cause random strangers to approach me to compliment me on my smile, suddenly stopped. I’m not quite sure when or how it began, but little by little, I had forgotten how to smile. I sought help from medical professionals yet nothing seemed to work. Most of all, I just felt like I had no one who was able to just listen to me and felt all alone.
I eventually created a bilingual blog called Strangers With Smiles https://strangerswithsmiles.wordpress.com/ in which I would interview random people and ask them three questions related to happiness. The more I started talking to people and hearing their stories, I eventually recovered my smile and the more my heart filled with empathy for others who had also faced hardships.
That's my story.
I soon realized that there are so many other people in this world who, much like me, just want people to hear their story and have a need to express themselves so they know they are not alone in this world. People do care. I believe in community. And sharing. And the power of paying it forward.
I am a writer and a photographer—that is the medium I chose to express myself. However I recognize that not everyone might choose this method to express themselves.
My mission is to create a non-profit community in which I can help people develop their skills so that they can tell THEIR story, be it through writing, art, photography, video or dance. The goal being that eventually, they can turn their story into whatever they want: sell their artwork, publish their writings, etc.
Will you help these strangers find their voices?
https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaSantosWritings/
https://www.facebook.com/StrangersWithSmiles/
https://www.facebook.com/creaTeciTy5/
https://society6.com/createcity
https://madridbywayofthebay.wordpress.com/
