Personal Stories Catalog--Andrew Oakes

 1.     The story of running across the Canadian border with a friend and almost not making it back into the country [adventure story, run ins with the law]. I tell this story when people mention they’re from Canada, or whenever something Canada related comes up.

2.     The story of my really whiny high school journal [story about the teenage mind, story about (hopefully) changing]. I bring this up to get a laugh and hopefully convince other people that I’m not the same high school kid.

3.    The story of the first time I gave blood and how the doctor asked me if I had any because nothing was coming out [story about doctors, story about needles, story about snacks]. I tell this story whenever someone says they’re about to give blood to freak them out a little.

4.     The story of my high school car and how during the wintertime, I had to stick my head out the window to see because my breath would freeze on the windshield [story about making do with what you got, story about the cold, story about senior year]. There was a lot more wrong with the car, but it was fun driving it because people will collectively gasp when I tell them about how I literally picked pieces of it off the street.

5.     The story of listening to Robbie Parker stand at our pulpit and express his faith after what happened in Sandy Hook [story about forgiveness, story of my ward back home, story of faith] I only ever tell this story to focus on the incredible faith that people have, even in trials.

6.     The story of my one goal in my one season of lacrosse [story about trying something new (even if you’re not very good at it), story about sports] I tell this story whenever people ask me if I’ve played lacrosse.

7.     The story of delivering ice as a summer job [summer job story, meeting interesting people, seeing interesting homes] The normal reaction to this is a puzzled but curious “huh.”

8.     The story of tubing and my short-term memory loss [hospital story, boat story, remembering what can’t really be remembered] I tell this story mostly when I’m with my friends because they always got a kick out of my semi-conscious rambling.

9.     The story of how I received my testimony of God’s love for us [testimony, spiritual story, story of personal revelation] I tell this story because I feel it’s something people need to be reminded of sometimes. I think everyone needs to know that they always have someone in their corner.

10.     The story of why people say I look like Harry Potter [little kid story, story of how I got my scar] People’s reaction to this is usually “Oh, I can see it.”