Katie, you need to be able to open up to a limit so you can get them to open up. This does not require you to share your most personal aspects of your life but it is important you create some neutral facts about your life so students will open up to you. For example you would not need to share with them any difficult times in your life specifically but it can be a positive experience that students know your life is similar to theirs if this turns out to be the case. Another example would be to let them know you have a loving family but you would not need to get into details about specifics of who is in your family or ages of any children. My neutral "story" includes some basic facts about living in the Midwest all my life, having spent some time in the Navy, teaching for over 20 years and I love spending time with my family. This is about as detailed as I ever get with my students. I hope this helps in some way. James Jackson