TASK DEFINITION: Read the given story and classify it as 'imagined', 'recalled', or 'retold'. If a story is imagined, the person who wrote the story is making it up, pretending they experienced it. If a story is recalled, the person who wrote the story really experienced it and is recalling it from memory. If a story is retold, it is a real memory like the 'recalled' stories, but written down much later after previously writing a 'recalled' story about the same events. So, recalled stories and retold stories will be fairly similar, in that they both were real experiences for the writer. Imagined stories have a more linear flow and contain more commonsense knowledge, whereas recalled stories are less connected and contain more specific concrete events. Additionally, higher levels of self reference are found in imagined stories. Between recalled and retold stories, retold stories flow significantly more linearly than recalled stories, and retold stories are significantly higher in scores for cognitive processes and positive tone.
PROBLEM: A large group of friends and myself got together for a barbecue. It is rare that we can all get together at the same time. We usually can only get together in small bunches with one to three of us missing so it is a great time when we all can get together. We went to one of our friends houses and hung out in their back yard next to their pool. We spent most of the time talking and playing a few board or card games, just catching up. It was overall sunny and good weather outside, a little hotter than some of use like. The friend whose house it was bought hamburger, hot dogs, sausage and chicken to cook on their grill. A few of use also brought a lot of other food and things with them. Some brought soda, drinks and ice others brought side dishes. I brought a few things and made a dessert. We ended up spending most of the day and part of the night together and went home close to 11 that night. It was a good time and fun catching up with everyone together. A lot of us made plans for the next meet up since some of use enjoy different hobbies than others. Myself and a group made plans to go hiking the following weekend. We also made a few plans to meet up for lunch and play games during the week.

SOLUTION: retold

PROBLEM: I had gone grocery shopping to pick up a few things. I had gathered the things i needed and a few extras and headed to the cash to purchase. I had purchased my items and was leaving the store. I noticed an older woman with a cart of groceries. She was walking home and was trying to figure out a way to carry all of her bags. I live across the street from the grocery store so I told myself i should offer some assistance to her. I approached her and offered my help. I told her i would drop my things off at home and come back to help her carry some things. She lived nearby as well. So i did exactly that. I dropped my things off at home, and came back to the store to help her carry her bags to her home. She was very appreciative of my help. She wanted to give me a cake she had made and i declined. I told her we could go for coffee sometime as a thank you. I felt good about helping her. I think it's important to help others when we are able and i was able to help her. I wanted to help her. She's a lovely woman and now we are friends. She knows she can count on me to help if she needs it.

SOLUTION: retold

PROBLEM: I was anxious to have the sinus surgery as my nose had been full of polyps with deviated septum for likely a couple of years at that point. I was quite miserable, comparable to a sinus infection for years with no real relief. Multiple doctors, many rounds of steroids and antibiotics with no relief. At one point I was offered depression medications. I was also scared to have someone cutting and cleaning right next to my brain and eyes with only a couple thin bones in between. But at this point I felt desperate. My quality of life was rather low so I was determined to go through with the surgery. And I'm glad I did and I'm grateful I found my ENT doctor when I did. My husband's mother took care of our toddler while my mother and husband accompanied me. I'm grateful for my husband for distracting me with talk of anything other than what was happening that day and rubbing my cold feet before surgery. It really is the little things in life that are most memorable. Breathing through one's nose is definitely something a lot of people take for granted. I remember laying on the freezing cold operating table with nurses, techs, doctor and all the machines as a nurse injected the drug to put me under which felt like cold fire in my veins. I remember waking up in recovery with my nose packed full of gauze and such, wondering where my family was. I've only been under anesthesia one other time and to be honest it is a rather traumatizing experience but the nurses and doctors certainly don't acknowledge it as such.

SOLUTION:
retold