Curiosity, Connection, and the Courage to Tell the Truth
By: Brittany Holmes
At A Picture’s Worth, we believe awareness is not a destination. It is a habit. Learning does not arrive all at once. It stretches and grows each time we hear a new story and let it change us, even a little. Every conversation is a chance to widen the circle. Every voice is a chance to make room for another.
Stories help us do that work. A story is not just information. It is a doorway. When someone shares a chapter of their life, we get to stand beside them for a moment and look out at the world through their eyes. That simple shift can soften our judgments, unsettle our assumptions, and ask us to be more curious. Curiosity, in turn, builds connection. It helps us say, “Tell me more,” instead of “I already know.”
To build a culture of awareness, we also have to normalize talking about everything. Not only the highlight reel. Not only the polished parts. The normal human experience includes joy and heartbreak, success and struggle, big wins and messy middles. When we only share the shiny pieces, people learn to hide. When we make room for the full truth, people learn that they are not alone.
This matters in every corner of life, especially where shame and silence have been the rule for too long. Take domestic violence as one example. Talking about it does not make you a failure. It makes you brave. It says, “What happened to me is real, and I deserve safety and care.” It also signals to others who are living in fear that they are seen and worthy of support. Every time a survivor speaks, or a friend listens without trying to fix or minimize, the silence loses a little power. Awareness grows. Options grow. Hope grows.
The same is true for stories about mental health, caregiving, financial strain, immigration, disability, grief, and the long work of healing. Naming what is hard does not invite more harm. It invites more help. It invites community. It invites practical pathways that only show up when we stop pretending that everything is fine.
So how do we live this out together?
We start by practicing small acts of attention. Ask one follow-up question. Sit with one uncomfortable pause. Thank someone for trusting you, even if you do not have the perfect words. Let yourself be moved. Awareness begins as a feeling in the body before it becomes a strategy on paper. From there, we can choose the next step that fits. Share a resource. Offer a ride. Show up at a meeting. Vote for policies that protect and include. Donate time or dollars to efforts that lift stories to the surface.
We also remember that stories are not a product to be used. They are a gift to be honored. If you are sharing your own story, you get to choose the pace and the boundaries. You can start with one sentence. You can change your mind. You can ask for support. If you are receiving someone else’s story, you can center consent, privacy, and care. This is how trust grows. This is how communities become places where people can tell the truth and still belong.
At A Picture’s Worth, we use storytelling and public art to make this culture visible. We turn lived experiences into portraits and narratives that meet people where they already are. Sidewalks. Libraries. Community rooms. Social feeds. When stories are woven into everyday spaces, awareness is no longer an annual campaign. It is part of daily life.
If you are reading this, you are part of the work. Keep learning. Keep listening. Keep telling the truth about what hurts and what helps. Your story can be a bridge. Your curiosity can be a light. Together, we can create a community where more people feel safe to speak, safe to be seen, and safe to reach for what comes next.
If you want to get involved, join us at an event, share your story, or bring A Picture’s Worth to your neighborhood. Awareness begins with one voice. Connection grows when many voices rise together.
