My Power Story

I tell a lot of stories about myself. Some of them are empowering stories. But right now, the story I am finding the most power in is a little more...fanciful.

As a presenter, I've learned that audiences want to know about me. Even with young audiences, for whom I will mostly perform folktales, I have gotten in the practice of opening with a personal story. It helps them know who I am.

At the beginning of the summer, I presented at the National History Bee. I was there to tell stories from classical mythology and make connections between those stories and classical history. As I prepared for this presentation, I wondered how I should introduce myself to my audience. I could do a normal boring introduction: "I was a Latin major!" Or I could introduce myself with a story. The question was, how could I tell a story that was both about me, and about mythology/history?

I am descended from Julius Caesar. I know what you are thinking. How could I possibly be sure of something like that? Well, first of all, my grandfather was an Italian immigrant. I have Italian heritage, so it is at least possible. Beyond that, my evidence that I am descended from Caesar, is that I was born in the month of July. Caesar was also born in July and the month was named after him. If this seems like insufficient proof, you should know that Caesar set the bar for claiming descent from an important historical figure really low. He claimed to be descended from Iulus. Iulus was the son of Aeneas, the hero of Roman legend, who fled from the ruins of Troy to Italy and founded the settlement that would later become Rome. By connecting himself with Iulus, Caesar was also tying himself to the earliest foundations of Roman civilization. And, since Aeneas was the son of Venus, he was claiming divine lineage as well. His evidence that he was descended from Iulus? Their names are similar: Julius or Iulius and Iulus. So, my evidence for claiming descent from Caesar isn't looking that bad is it? And if you accept that I am descended from Caesar, that, of course, means that I am also descended from Iulus, Aeneas, and Venus.  

This story may not seem to say much about me, other than the fact that I am in possession of a sense of imaginative arrogance. But maybe that's all you really need to know. And maybe that's all I need, too. It's stuck with me. At first I thought I would just use it again at future storytelling engagements. Then, I thought, maybe this story is really my story.

Because sometimes I need to feel like a daughter of Rome. I know that in those moments when I need power, it would make more sense to turn to my actual personal stories. I ran a marathon! I had two home births! I took trains and buses and taxies all over Norfolk, England by myself and performed for British school children. I'm a total bad ass. I can do anything. But sometimes my former accomplishments feel like maybe they were done by another person. They don't always convince me that I can do the next amazing thing.

If I can believe I am descended from Julius Caesar though, and just a little bit of a goddess, I can believe I am almost anything.

(I don't read too much Percy Jackson. You read too much Percy Jackson.)