Remember when you were a kid and your teacher would give you a special assignment at the last second? The bell rings on Friday afternoon, but she tells you to stay seated. There’s an assignment for the weekend. You look at your friends in fear; could this be worse than last week’s 4 page essay on literary techniques? Doubtful. The teacher goes to the chalkboard, begins writing out your destiny, then turns to the class and says… “Go do something fun tonight. Enjoy your weekend!” as the entire class breathes a sigh of relief and runs out the door before she has a chance to change her mind.

I remember these situations all too often. It’s a subtle surprise when someone simply asks you to do what you are already doing, as if it’s going to be this tedious task. When we are asked to do what we love, we have the opportunity to take pride and joy in what we do; we smile while we partake, and it feels great to know that someone else recognizes it. It’s beautiful to watch people realize that people love to see or experience something that they naturally enjoy.

This weekend, Experience Columbus is challenging Columbus natives to share what they’re doing on social media (as if you weren’t already doing that). Use the hashtag #LifeinCBUS on your favorite social platform. I can’t think of a cooler way for the city to get a real glimpse at what we do on the weekends than to simply ask us to show it off. I spend hours and hours on the phone and Skype trying to explain to my friends around the country how great Columbus really is; it’s hard for those that are sitting on a beach, climbing a mountain, or enjoying February sunshine to really get why I came back with such excitement. But perhaps this is the way that that story gets told. With your photos, tweets, and updates on Saturday, May 3rd, we have the chance to tell the story of Columbus, one person at a time. It doesn’t require us to do anything out of the ordinary (you can expect to see me at a coffeeshop, making brunch, on a run, and grabbing a drink with friends) but it allows each of us to be a part of the bigger story.

Let your story be told.