Crafting OurStory

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African Americans are resilient and strong.

These six words—the first sentence of my final capstone as a student in the University of Pennsylvania Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program—were a foundation on which I was raised. As I look to my brothers and sisters, my sons and my daughters, my parents and grandparents, my aunties and uncles—only some of whom I’m actually related to—I hear and witness this story again and again. We are a people of cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) and multiple strengths (Hurd, 1995; Littlejohn-Blake & Darlin, 1993; Mattis et al., 2003).

But perhaps like me—whether you’re African American or not—as you looked to dominant messages in literature, TV, film, and even in the faces of teachers during your formative years, this may not be the tale you were told. When you look to contemporary research and come across terms like “achievement gaps,” “school-to-prison pipeline,” or hear labels like “at risk,” chances are good that the first faces you picture in your mind’s eye are dark ones—whether or not this was your intention. If you caught a glimpse of news stories in the summer of 2020, you may also be familiar with the stories I heard and continue to hear over and again as an adult. Stories misaligned to the lessons of my youth. Stories that brought me to MAPP.

You see, the stories we tell are powerful. In fact, narrative scholar Angus Fletcher (2021) referred to narratives as one of humanity’s first great powers. The meaning we make of our stories can affect our relationships, motivation, self-perception, responses, and outcomes (Jones et al., 2018). And the manner by which we connect ourselves to the events in our stories can influence our perceptions of self, behavior, mental health, and well-being (Adler 2012; Bauer et al., 2008; Braddock & Dillard, 2016; Pasupathi et al., 2007). That said, personal narratives—that is, the coherent stories connecting our life events and framed by a beginning and an end—matter. They can influence the trajectory of our lives and experiences (Jones et al., 2018; McAdams, 2001). For most, our narrative identities are planted and take root during adolescence (McAdams, 1985, 2011).

Unfortunately, during this developmental period hallmarked by heightened neuroplasticity and cognitive development (Steinberg, 2005), many African American adolescents are subjected to stereotypes and one-sided deficit narratives. Stereotype threat, the risk of confirming and/or conforming to negative stereotypes, can activate a cascade of negative automatic thoughts (Steele & Aronson, 1995). It can result in underestimation of one’s own ability and subsequent underperformance (Walton & Spencer, 2009). And in students, negative stereotypes about their intellect—particularly in performance conditions—have been shown to undermine standardized test scores (Danaher & Crandall, 2008; Steele, 1997) and college admission outcomes (Logel et al., 2012).

Further, limiting our stories to tales of deficiency can result in helplessness, defeat, and ill-being. Deficiency narratives may sabotage achievement and aspiration (Spencer et al., 2016), compromise well-being (Sherman et al., 2000), reinforce biases, stereotypes, and harmful internalized narratives (Jones, 2000), and they may become self-fulfilling prophecies (Steele & Aronson, 1995). However, this is just one side of a multidimensional story.

Each year, millions of students write a college admission essay (Freeman et al., 2021). For many, this personal narrative may be the first time they use their own words to reflect on their values and strengths, consider their life challenges and beliefs, and imagine how they will contribute to society and the world. As such, I believe this essay also offers an intervention opportunity for students to tell a different story—their story.

Historically, the college admission essay has been used by admission committees as a tool to predict student outcomes. However, the small but significant well-being benefits in adolescents of expressive and reflective writing (e.g., Cohen et al., 2009; Jones & Destin, 2021; Travagin et al., 2015), plus research that has demonstrated the value in revising how we make meaning of our experiences (e.g., Walton, 2014; Walton & Wilson, 2018) are hard to ignore. I’ve been wondering—What might happen if we reimagined this ubiquitous personal narrative not only as a tool to predict academic and well-being outcomes, but also as an opportunity to influence them? This question is the basis for the program I conceived as a MAPP student and plan to pilot in fall 2023.

In short, OurStory leverages the college admission essay and essay-writing process to reframe beliefs and shape positive personal narratives. Inspired by research from narrative psychology, social psychology, and positive psychology, OurStory escorts college-bound and college-curious students through an intentional process of narrative revision. Importantly, it leverages a personal narrative they’re already motivated to write. I created this program with a subset of African American 11th and 12th grade students in mind, but the content is relevant to a broad audience of high school students. The workshops and companion curriculum are aligned to three content pillars—Beliefs, Belonging, and Becoming—exploring concepts including agency (our ability to impact outcomes through our actions; Bandura, 2001), self-efficacy (the belief that our actions can affect change; Bandura, 1977; 1997), mindset (our deeply held assumptions about whether we can change; Dweck et al., 1995), relationships, mattering (feeling valued and valuable; Prilleltensky, 2014), and prospection (our imagined possible futures; Gilbert & Wilson, 2007). As students write, revise, and finalize their college admission essays, the program aims to improve their academic and well-being outcomes along the way.

Before I came to MAPP I felt disillusioned and stuck. I felt depleted and discouraged by incessant narratives and one-sided research that neither aligned to nor reflected my experience and observations of myself and my people. But as I looked to my community, I witnessed story after story of strength, resilience, and beauty. But where were these stories?

Although I was unsure how, I knew I had to help to tell a different story. To amplify voices we don’t always hear from. As a student at Penn, I worked for a year to write, revise, and refine my own narrative. As I navigated both the triumphs and challenges of grad school and inherent in the good life, I saw my own strength and resilience, and I was bolstered by the strength and resilience of my community. MAPP afforded me time and tools to flesh out my own intervention ideas and craft my capstone—not only a counternarrative to dominant deficiency narratives but also, more importantly, a love song to my people.

Gratefully, with the strength and support of this MAPP Alumni community, this work continues. Not only with OurStory but also with MAPP Magazine.

As a recent graduate and new magazine editor, I’m grateful to work alongside my classmate and co-editor, Kimberly Dickman (C’ 22) whose work on touch and well-being, you can also read about in this, our inaugural issue. We’re eager to use this platform to amplify more voices and spotlight the breadth of stories, ideas, experiences, and applications of positive psychology—not only within this community but beyond it. We’re pleased to also share articles on post-traumatic growth and a vision for MAPP 2.0 from the new MAPP Alumni Board Communications Committee Co-chairs, Mark O’Brien (C’ 22) and Pax Tandon (C’ 10). We’d like to thank the MAPP Magazine editors and Board Communications Chairs who preceded us for your investment in our community and the work you’ve begun.

Finally, I’d like to extend personal thanks to everyone in this community who has supported the MAPP Grant program over the years—both directly and indirectly. Your gifts and time have laid groundwork for so much good work in the world. And for me, they’ve created a pathway to continue the work I began as a student. With your help, I intend to share my story, to help more kids write and revise their own stories, and to pass along the hope of a story still being written.

With gratitude,

References

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About the author | Abi Tschetter (C'22) is a business writer, editor, and marketing consultant navigating the good life with her husband and two college-bound kids. Based north of Seattle on Whidbey Island, she works with companies and nonprofits of all sizes—from small-town startups to global enterprises—to create content, refine messaging, and engage with both prospects and customers through storytelling. She’s an assistant instructor for the University of Pennsylvania Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program and co-editor of MAPP Magazine, the program’s alumni publication. A former admission counselor, volunteer college-essay sounding board + editor, and recent MAPP grad, Abi’s developing OurStory, a program that leverages the college admission essay and essay-writing process to reframe beliefs and shape positive personal narratives in adolescents.