In 2017 Kïrsten Blake of Chapter BE, along with her dog, Harriet Ethel, the brave and beloved BE mascot, traveled to all 48 continental United States and asked 380 strangers: “How do you want to BE in this world?”

Kïrsten and Harriet drove a total of 15,887 miles over the course of 90 days, July 15 through October 16, and stayed with family, friends, and friends-of-friends along the way. Beginning the trip in Santa Fe, NM and ending in Denver, CO, Chapter BE’s approach was simple – scope the city and crowdsource the best places to set up. Then, throw open the back doors of Beatrice, the BE Mobile, and invite strangers in to talk.

The Being of a Nation collected stories of courage, curiosity, empathy, love, positivity, and so much more. Stories are how people connect with one another, with their environment, and with themselves. Chapter BE wants to share these stories of BEing from across the nation with the aim to inspire individuals to share their story as well as connect to someone else’s BE story.

Below you will find stories of BEing from different individuals across our country. As you listen to these stories, note that these are raw, on-the-street interviews that capture the storyteller’s environment – general background noise, animals, cars, others passing by. Close your eyes and picture their environment as you listen in…

Listen to their stories

Explore all of the interviews

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