“Life’s Stories” by Julie Beck does a fantastic job explaining how our lives become a narrative and that perhaps our lives are narratives without us even realizing it. One part of this article that stood out to me was when Beck discussed keeping a journal. I have always made an effort to write each day but too often I lose track of time at the end of the day and just end up going to sleep. I found it somewhat odd that she described the stories we tell as narratives but she claims that a journal is not a narrative. Furthermore, Sarah Manguso has kept a journal for decades and she explains that she doesn’t even really understand narratives. I suppose this was Beck’s fuel for her claim. Also, Beck discussed how “the only material we’ve ever had to make stories out of is our own imagination, and life itself” (Beck). Doesn’t this mean that everything we tell each other – every human experience we’ve ever talked about as a species – is a narrative? I think that the dividing line between what is and what is not a narrative is somewhat fuzzy. Another part of this article that made me think of my own life is when Beck discussed humans as being characters in their own lives, in their own stories. This made me consider that every decision I’ve ever made has led me to where I am now. That realization is profound. It leaves me to strongly contemplate how I want to live my life and how I will achieve doing so.