1. Last week’s homework asked you to read the first 21 pages in the Telling Your Story textbook.  The purpose of the assignment is to prepare you for your future challenges and opportunities for telling your story.  Job interviews.  College admissions interviews.  Meeting new people in networking opportunities.  Asking for a prom date.   You will encounter storytelling opportunities your entire life.  I’m 67 years old and I’m presented with storytelling opportunities each week.   Imagine you are at a college admissions interview.  Write the first paragraph of the story you will tell to the Admissions Director of a college you really want to go to.   Please send your well written opening paragraph of the story you will tell with good grammar, perfect spelling, short sentences and periods at the end of these short sentences to my email address no later than Thursday morning, January 12 at 3:45am.  Thank you.  I look forward to reading your story. 

2. Starting on page 20 and continuing onto page 21 in the Telling Your Story book, I introduced a very important part of storytelling.  It’s called “the ask“.    Please read these pages again to familiarize yourself with this part of storytelling.   Then, watch the following video from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as he interviews Malala Yousafzai.  Malala shares her story of growing up in her Swat Valley neighborhood in northern Pakistan terrorized by a gang called the Taliban.  Listen to her words and observe her body language closely. Malala appears sincere and passionate as she tells her story. She speaks about the day when gang members came aboard her school bus and shot her in the head because she had been encouraging young girls to go to school when the Taliban forbid girls going to school.  Thankfully, Malala lived and continues to share her story and encourage girls to go and work hard in school.  See if you can figure out Malala’s ask as she shares her story with Jon Stewart and his international audience on the Daily Show.    Please state Malala’s ask ‘Malala’s ask’ in ONE well written sentence with good grammar, short sentences and periods at the end of this short sentence to my email address no later than Thursday morning, January 12 at 3:45am.  Thank you.    See you next Friday.  I’m looking forward to it.  We have another young guest, a student and business man from Syracuse University who, I believe, will be very successful and very rich some day soon.  Amazing.