About the Project
Where it’s been and where it’s going
The Strangers Project is an ongoing series of anonymous journal entries collected from strangers. The collection contains a mix of stories that are hand-written and collected spontaneously in person, as well as stories collected online from all over the world.
Participants are asked to write about anything they want (as long as it’s true). The result is mosaic of stories from the lives happening around us at every moment. These are our friends, our families, and people you’ve never spoken to. Every moment billions of stories are unfolding—this is a glimpse into some of those things we may normally not notice. These are our lives. The collection contains over 4000 entries and they are continuously being collected and shared.
MISSION
I believe that everyone has a story worth sharing. When I’m out collecting stories, I often hear people say “I’d write something but my life isn’t interesting.” I think it is, and I’m not the only one. Every time I’ve convinced someone to share after they’ve said that, they end up sharing something important—often surprising themselves.
It’s important for us to both share our own and hear each-other’s stories. I created this project as an outlet and a safe place for people to share anything they might not have had an opportunity to elsewhere. The project isn’t only about giving your story, but about hearing about the lives of the people around us. We can help eachother remember that we’re all human, and that we’re all going through this life together in one way or another. There’s such a large spectrum of where we might be in our life on any given day, but we’re all still experiencing it together. You are not alone.
When I started all of this I didn’t realize the full potential for significant emotional connection with a complete stranger. The project quickly became something more than I expected. It became something organic—Something that connects us. People would laugh while they wrote. They would cry. The stories illuminated the strands that connect us all—The beautiful, dirty, scary, and exciting bits of humanity that we hesitate to share with each other.
We’ve learned, now more than ever, that being surrounded by people doesn’t keep us from feeling lonely. There’s an imbalance between the need we have to express ourselves and mediums for us to do so. Storytelling allows us to take comfort that we have experienced life. The ability to share what burns in our hearts and minds with those around us is the one thing that makes us what we are; we need to remember that our lives, for whatever reasons, are worth remembering.
I’ve let this project grow organically throughout its life, and I plan to do whatever it takes to help it continue to expand. It all began with collecting stories face to face, pen to paper, with people walking by on the street. People from around the world began asking how they could share their story when despite gaps in geography, so online submissions were opened. I plan to continue exploring and expanding the methods for us all share and experience these lives around us. If you ever have an idea on how to help the project grow in a certain direction, please do not hesitate to contact me.
HISTORY
I started The Strangers Project (formerly Don’t Talk to Strangers) in July of 2009 and it changed my life in more ways that I can count. I’ve always been captivated by people’s stories and the complex lives of the millions of people we pass in a lifetime. I decided to capture a glimpse of these personal histories by asking strangers to share their story with me. While sitting outside a coffee shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I took a marker that I had in my bag and a notebook and wrote “I am collecting your stories. Please stop by and share!” Within minutes people were stopping by and writing their stories down for me. I had such a positive response on the first day that I decided to do it again—and I’ve been collecting ever since.