UUCV StoryCorps Interview Topics

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UUCV StoryCorps Interview Topics

 

This project and question guide was inspired by StoryCorps.

  • Choose ONE category below that you would like to talk about. You will answer the five questions in that category. The last question relates the topic to your experience as a Unitarian Universalist (UU), or spirituality more broadly.
  • Before the interview, take some time to consider each question. You can take some notes if you like, but please do not write out a script – we are going for natural conversation. The interviews will be about 15 minutes, so you’ll have around 3 minutes for each question.
  • Keep in mind that these interviews will be recorded and shared publicly, so please do not share something that you would rather keep private or that you do not have permission to share.

 

UNIVERSAL QUESTIONS

  1. What are you proudest of in your life?
  2. What do you feel most grateful for in your life?
  3. What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned in life?
  4. How would you like to be remembered?
  5. Why does being a UU matter to you?

 

KIDS QUESTIONS
These are broad questions that may be more accessible for children than other categories, but kids are welcome to choose a different question set if they wish.

  1. What are your three favorite things to do?
  2. Where do you think you will be 10 years from now?
  3. Tell me about the best day you ever had.
  4. What is something that you wish adults would do differently?
  5. What is your favorite thing about UUCV?

 

CHILDHOOD

  1. Where did you grow up? Tell me about your state, your town/city, your neighborhood, your house.
  2. Can you tell me about one of your favorite relatives as a child?
  3. Can you share one of your happiest memories from childhood?
  4. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
  5. In what religious tradition were you raised? How does that influence your spiritual identity today?

 

PARENTHOOD

  1. Tell us about your kids, including any favorite stories about them.
  2. Can you describe the moment when you saw your first child for the first time?
  3. How has being a parent changed you?
  4. What are your dreams for your children?
  5. How has being a UU impacted how you parent your children?

 

RELATIONSHIPS

  1. When and how did you meet your partner(s)?
  2. Do you have any favorite stories from your marriage or about your partner(s)?
  3. What lessons have you learned from your marriage/relationship(s)?
  4. What advice do you have for young couples?
  5. How has belonging to a UU congregation impacted your marriage/relationship(s)?

 

IN MEMORY

  1. Tell me about your loved one. What was your relationship with them like?
  2. How do you think they would want to be remembered?
  3. What would you ask them if they were alive today?
  4. Do you have a story about them you would like to share?
  5. How has being part of a UU community helped you through the grieving process?

 

TRAGEDY

  1. Tell me about a major traumatic event that you witnessed and survived.
  2. What made you first realize something was wrong? When did you start to understand the magnitude of what happened?
  3. What kind of support did you provide for others during and after? Where did you find support for yourself?
  4. Tell me about some of the lasting impacts this experience had on you.
  5. Our Sixth Principle calls us to insist on peace, freedom, and justice. How has living through this experience shaped your understanding of freedom and justice?

 

CAREER

  1. What do you do for a living? Tell me about how you got into your line of work.
  2. What is most rewarding about your job?
  3. Do you think you chose your job because of your personality, or has doing your job changed you?
  4. What life lessons has your work taught you?
  5. How do you live into UU principles through your work?

 

TEACHERS

  1. When and why did you decide to become a teacher?
  2. Was there a teacher or teachers who had a particularly strong influence on your life? What did you learn about teaching from them?
  3. How would you like your students to remember you?
  4. Tell me about a time when teaching made you feel hopeful.
  5. How does your identity as a teacher complement your identity as a UU?

 

MUSICIANS

  1. When did you start making music? Do you sing, or play instruments? What kind of music do you gravitate toward making?
  2. Tell us about an artist who you admire as a musician.
  3. Was there a teacher who had a particularly strong influence on you? What did you learn about making music from them?
  4. Is music part of what you do for a living? How did you make the decision to involve music in your career or not?
  5. How does making music fit into your spiritual practice?

 

ARTISTS

  1. When did you become interested in making art? What are your favorite art media to work with?
  2. Tell us about an artist whose work you admire. Is there a particular piece that is your favorite?
  3. Is art part of what you do for a living? How did you make the decision to involve art in your career or not?
  4. Would you show us something you created, and tell us about what inspired you to create it?
  5. Some describe making art as a spiritual experience. Do you experience music this way?

 

ACTORS

  1. When did you realize you enjoy acting? Tell us about your first experience acting in front of others.
  2. What is a role you have played that has stuck with you?
  3. If you could choose two famous actors to be your acting partners, who would they be?
  4. What is a lesson you have learned from acting that also applies to life?
  5. Our First Principle teaches us to respect the inherent worth and dignity of each person. As an actor, how do you portray the inherent worth and dignity of the characters you inhabit?

 

WRITERS

  1. When did you discover you enjoy writing? What kind of writing do you do (books, poems, fiction/non-fiction?)
  2. Tell us about an author whose work you admire. Is there a particular piece of writing that is your favorite?
  3. Would you tell us about something you wrote? What inspired you to write it?
  4. Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you get unstuck?
  5. How does your writing relate to your beliefs as a UU?

POLITICS

  1. How and when did you first become interested in politics?
  2. What does your political engagement look like right now?
  3. If you were running for POTUS, what would be two of your major campaign issues?
  4. How can we motivate young voters to get engaged with politics?
  5. How do your beliefs as a UU show up in your work in politics?

 

MILITARY

  1. If you enlisted, what were some of the reasons that you joined the military? How did you choose your branch of service?
  2. How did you tell your family and friends that you were joining the military? Are there any conversations that stand out from that time
  3. How did you imagine military life before you joined? How did your perceptions change after serving?
  4. Is there anything you wish civilians understood about military service?
  5. How does your experience serving in the military impact your beliefs as a UU?

 

ETHNICITY

  1. What is your ethnic background? Where is your family from?
  2. Have you ever been there? What was that experience like?
  3. What traditions have been passed down in your family?
  4. How has living in the US impacted your understanding of your ethnic identity?
  5. What messages about religion or faith are traditional in your parents’ culture? How does that influence your identity as a UU?

 

GENDER

  1. How old were you when you came to understand your gender identity?
  2. Do you experience your gender as static (the same every day) or fluid (different day by day or depending on the context)?
  3. Do you feel comfortable expressing your gender fully with your family? At your workplace?
  4. What do you wish people understood about your gender identity?
  5. Many Unitarian Universalists say that UU is a welcoming faith. Do you experience that to be true?

 

SEXUAL ORIENTATION

  1. Tell me about how you experience your sexual orientation. How old were you when you came to understand your sexual orientation as an identity?
  2. When did you come out to your family, and what were those conversations like?
  3. Have you been to a Pride parade, protest, or event? What was that like for you?
  4. What do you wish people understood about your sexual orientation?
  5. Many Unitarian Universalists say that UU is a welcoming faith. Do you experience that to be true?

 

SOCIAL JUSTICE

  1. Tell me about a social justice movement that you feel strongly about. When did you first learn about the issue?
  2. What is your personal investment in this movement?
  3. What does your activism around this cause look like?
  4. What do you think most people don’t know or understand about this?
  5. How do your values as a UU impact your beliefs and actions around this issue?

 

HOBBY

  1. Tell me about your hobby/game/sport. When did you start?
  2. What is the most rewarding thing about participating in this activity
  3. Do you have a community around this activity? How do you interact with them?
  4. What advice do you have for someone trying this activity for the first time?
  5. Some people describe spiritual practices as walking a path in life. For you, is there an element of spirituality involved in doing this activity?

 

TRAVEL

  1. Tell me about a particularly impactful travel experience you had. Where did you go, and how old were you?
  2. How did you plan your time there? Did you have a strict itinerary for your trip, or did you wander?
  3. What were the most memorable things you saw or did there?
  4. What was something that surprised you about this place?
  5. Our Fourth Principle calls us to search for truth and meaning. How did this travel experience influence your search for truth and meaning?