we live here 

My name is Natalie Eastwood, and I am here to tell stories. I graduated from Shippensburg University in May of 2017 with a degree in Communication/Journalism with an emphasis in print and minor in English. Although I eventually hope to write for magazines, I am taking a detour by teaching English as a second on the other side of the world. I am using this blog to share the stories of the people I meet along the way.

 

I have scarcely left the east coast of the U.S. and Canada, but I have adventured to many of the cities around me--Philly, Pittsburgh, Gettysburg, Washington D.C., Boston, Charleston--and what I've found is that cities are remarkably similar while at the same time unique experiences. What makes each city and each visit different, are the people. More than once I have returned home and what I remember most is the conversation I had with my Uber driver, the one in Boston who said his favorite place in the city is his house, and the one in Pittsburgh who said her evening plans were to get $5 bucket of fried chicken. And that comes with a drink. You can't beat that deal, she said. The people I've talked with outside of coffee shops and in markets, locals and tourists all mingling and rushing and sometimes just sloshing through this day to get to the next are the reason I explore, the reason I write. 

 

I'm here to share your stories. Everyone has a story, but not everyone has a way to share it. Let me help. Contact me if you have a story to share, if your friend has a story, your uncle, your uncle's friend's dog's pet cat. We would be dry husks of people if it weren't for the stories of our past and present, the ones where we learn about each other around campfires or a bottle of whiskey, the ones we hide in iron balls lodged in our stomachs, the one that makes others uncomfortable, the ones we whisper, the ones we scream, the story that helps you find another part of yourself. 

 

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