--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think when people begin to tell their…" description: "\"I think when people begin to tell their stories, everything changes, because not only are you legitimised in the telling of your story and are you foun..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/eve-ensler-1402_community_i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their_967282.jpg" --- # I think when people begin to tell their stories… ![“I think when people begin to tell their stories, everything changes, because not only are you legitimised in the telling of your story and are you found, literally, like you matter, you exist in the telling of your story, but when you hear your story be told, you suddenly exist in community and…” quote by Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/eve-ensler-1402_community_i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their_967282.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/eve-ensler-1402_community_i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their_967282.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/eve-ensler-1402_community_i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their_967282.jpg) > “I think when people begin to tell their stories, everything changes, because not only are you legitimised in the telling of your story and are you found, literally, like you matter, you exist in the telling of your story, but when you hear your story be told, you suddenly exist in community and with others.” [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sharing personal narratives validates identity and builds communal belonging, transforming isolation into connection. **In simple terms:** Storytelling validates you and creates community. Key Takeaway Speak your truth to connect with others. Themes identity community storytelling empowerment belonging Mood hopeful empathetic Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - support groups - therapy sessions - activist gatherings - educational workshops Key Concepts Narrative therapy social identity collective consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How does sharing your story change your self‑perception? - What barriers prevent others from listening? A Different Perspective Stories may be dismissed or misinterpreted, limiting impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything/) [Exist Telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist-telling-1833773/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Legitimised Telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legitimised-telling-1833774/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Changes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-changes-1833772/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Story Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-told/) [Tell Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-stories/) ## Related quotes > [He tells you stories, but then, after a while, when you want more, he doesn't give you more. 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Everything seems to be part of a story, and how that story is told often leads to critical error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/narrative-drives-most-of-economics-everything-seems-to-be-part-of-a/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Never again shall a single story be told as though it were the only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/never-again-shall-a-single-story-be-told-as-though-it-were-the-only/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“Make you life the greatest story told!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-guillaume/make-you-life-the-greatest-story-told/) [Marie Guillaume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-guillaume/) > [“Memory was a story you told yourself about yourself, extrapolated from a tiny dot-matrix of facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-dyson/memory-was-a-story-you-told-yourself-about-yourself-extrapolated-from/) [Jeremy Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-dyson/) > [Real life is never quite as interesting as the story told afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/real-life-is-never-quite-as-interesting-as-the-story-told-afterward/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“It is such a pretty story, told to me by a Cuban woman I met in a bar at the beach. 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It was a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-clark/eugene-smith-was-always-writing-these-diatribes-about-truth-and-how/) [Larry Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-clark/) > [ I felt that there was a beautiful story \[ in "All We Had"\] to be told and one that was valuable and also one… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-holmes/i-felt-that-there-was-a-beautiful-story-in-all-we-had-to-be-told-and/) [Katie Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-holmes/) > [The thing is that my father's story helps to communicate what was at stake with my mother, and my mother and father had so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-thing-is-that-my-father-s-story-helps-to-communicate-what-was-at/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) ## More by Eve Ensler > [I have been struggling to find my way back into my body my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-have-been-struggling-to-find-my-way-back-into-my-body-my-whole-life/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [When I wrote 'The Good Body,' I turned 40 and suddenly had this stomach. 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It is the only organ in the body designed purely for pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-clitoris-is-pure-in-purpose-it-is-the-only-organ-in-the-body/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [stop fixing your bodies and start fixing the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/stop-fixing-your-bodies-and-start-fixing-the-world/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Anorexia was my attempt to have control over my body and manipulate my body and starve my body and shape my body. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/anorexia-was-my-attempt-to-have-control-over-my-body-and-manipulate/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I believe in irony. 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Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) [Browse all 13,840 Community quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think when people begin to tell their stories, everything changes, because not only are you legitimised in the telling of your story and are you found, literally, like you matter, you exist in the telling of your story, but when you hear your story be told, you suddenly exist in community and with others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eve Ensler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their-stories-everything-changes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Community" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their-stories-everything-changes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/eve-ensler-1402_community_i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their_967282.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/eve-ensler-1402_community_i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their_967282.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/eve-ensler-1402_community_i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their_967282.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think when people begin to tell their stories, everything changes, because not only are you legitimised in…” — Eve Ensler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eve Ensler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think when people begin to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their-stories-everything-changes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-think-when-people-begin-to-tell-their-stories-everything-changes/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```