Story 512

We love stories and we love Austin. Our goal is to help you connect your story, to a bigger story.

07/23/2024

Dr. Aparna Samuel Balasundaram
Global Leader, Author, TEDx Speaker & Lecturer at Columbia University

Let Aparna's story of survival, resilience, and healing be an inspiration. We can dig deep and find the courage to embrace our brokenness and discover the power in our scars. There is hope!

If you would like help moving beyond a difficult situation, we'd love to help. Email us: [email protected].

🎥 Watch Aparna Samuel Balasundaram's full story here:⁠
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/ .me

07/22/2024

"Hope and restoration... resilience and second chances... no experience is ever wasted... just great reminders of the human spirit."

🎥 Watch Aparna Samuel Balasundaram's full story here:⁠
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We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠
/ .me

07/21/2024

"Today my life is more valuable than it was before." Aparna describes her life like Kintsugi. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with gold making it more valuable than it was before it was broken.

Have you felt broken or imperfect beyond repair? Would you be willing to reframe that belief and see your life as having more value now? How would that change things for you? Tell us about it - we'd love to hear from you!

🎥 Watch Aparna Samuel Balasundaram's full story here:⁠
⁠www.youtube.com/⁠ and www.story512.com⁠
⁠
💬 Like, Comment, Follow & Subscribe!⁠
We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠
/ .me

07/20/2024

The world may see you based on surface things like the color of your skin or hair or the sound of your voice. Aparna learned that there is a God that sees beyond not only those surface things but beyond the deeper things. He sees the hurt, rejection, misunderstanding, and mistakes and likes you just as you are - for who you are.

Do you know this to be true? We'd love to hear from you - tell us why or why not!

🎥 Watch Aparna Samuel Balasundaram's full story here:⁠
⁠www.youtube.com/⁠ and www.story512.com⁠
⁠
💬 Like, Comment, Follow & Subscribe!⁠
We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠
/ .me

07/19/2024

Family and Faith are what Aparna attributes to her survival. She says going through something so horrible was what lead her to the belief in something bigger than herself.

Do you feel there is something "bigger than yourself" that has intervened in your life? Tell us about it!

🎥 Watch Aparna Samuel Balasundaram's full story here:⁠
⁠www.youtube.com/⁠ and www.story512.com⁠
⁠
💬 Like, Comment, Follow & Subscribe!⁠
We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠
/ .me

07/18/2024

Aparna shares insights on how to embrace our brokenness by discovering the power in our scars.

Have you found "power in your scars"? If so, we'd love to hear about it!

🎥 Watch Aparna Samuel Balasundaram's full story here:⁠
⁠www.youtube.com/⁠ and www.story512.com⁠
⁠
💬 Like, Comment, Follow & Subscribe!⁠
We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠
/ .me

07/17/2024

"Oprah was doing a show on domestic violence... broadcasting thousands of miles away in this little town in India... and I felt like she was talking to me... 'it's not your fault', 'you don't have to live in this', 'you deserve better'. I just felt the message was for me."

Locked in a room nursing the wounds from her abuser, Aparna felt like Oprah was speaking directly to her. And it was the first time she thought that there was life beyond her current circumstance.

Can you relate? We'd love to hear your story of finding hope!

🎥 Watch Aparna Samuel Balasundaram's full story here:⁠
⁠www.youtube.com/⁠ and www.story512.com⁠
⁠
💬 Like, Comment, Follow & Subscribe!⁠
We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠
/ .me

06/15/2024

"Wish you were a little lighter skinned". Colorism (discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group) was not something Aparna was aware of ... until she was. In India, she was not only the darkest in her class, she was the darkest in her school. For the first time, her sense of who she was was shaken.

Tell us what you think! What impacts could experiences of colorism have on an individual's mental health, self-esteem, or overall well-being?

🎥 Watch / .me full story here:⁠
⁠www.youtube.com/⁠ and www.story512.com⁠
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We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠

06/14/2024

Aparna Balasundaram is our guest on this episode of Story 512. We have the honor of hearing her story. Through sharing her personal and professional life journey we gain insight on how to embrace our brokenness and find hope in ourselves and in the world around us.

Welcome to Story 512, Episode 25!

🎥 Watch / .me full story here:⁠
⁠www.youtube.com/⁠ and www.story512.com⁠
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We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠

03/06/2024

"I get a lot of accolades but it was all the collaboration of an incredible group of people... it was about personal relationships."

Lots of people find success - but not all people find lasting success like Bill Bayless has. He doesn't compromise his values and he never loses sight of prioritizing people.

That is how he led American Campus Communities to success and it is how he is pursuing his new adventure. (Retirement only lasted 3 weeks!)

His passion for people is now driving him to find a solution for the challenge facing many of finding affordable workplace housing. People can't afford to live near where they work and Bill wants to do something about that.

Our guess is... we'll be bringing you a "Part 2" to this story all about how he created an affordable workforce housing industry just like he did the student housing industry. We can't wait!

🎥 Watch .bayless' full story here:⁠
⁠www.youtube.com/⁠ and www.story512.com⁠

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We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠

03/05/2024

"... you can't have success without failure... there is no such thing... don't give up, outwork people and just keep going."

Bill shares how the "blue collar working mentality" passed down through his family of steel workers really was the difference maker in his story.

He wasn't sure that he was the smartest in the room, but he was very sure that he wasn't going to let anyone in the room out work him.

👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Does this resonate with you? Share your story! We'd love to hear it.

🎥 Watch .bayless' full story here:⁠
⁠www.youtube.com/⁠ and www.story512.com⁠

💬 Like, Comment, Follow & Subscribe!⁠
We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠

03/03/2024

Balancing family and work is a challenge for many of us. Talking about this makes Bill emotional. He shares how he was working hard to provide a quality life for his family but how he missed the quality moments.

Can you relate? Share with us what it's like for you - have you mastered the balance or do you still struggle?

It's never too late - we can learn and do better!

📽️ Watch Episode 24 featuring Bill Bayless! ⁠
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www.youtube.com/⁠
www.story512.com⁠
⁠
👍🏼 Like, Comment, Follow & Subscribe!⁠
💬 We want to hear from you⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠

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