What's your story? (StoryCorps)

Have you thought about your own history and how you will pass that down to future generations? I've often thought about what I want my children to remember about me, about their grandparents, their great-grandparents, etc. There are so many stories. Too many to count.

The comforting thing is that we share these stories every single day. In passing conversations or a moment of teaching. At the dinner table or in the car on the way to school. We are taking part in oral history whether we realize it or not.

I volunteer once a month at a wonderful organization called Lake Erie Ink, where Cleveland-area grade school children come for after-school homework help and writing workshops. Yesterday, the kids were introduced to the concept of oral history. We watched a delightful 3-minute animated short called "A Family Man" produced by StoryCorps, a non-profit oral history project which has collected more than 45,000 interviews from around the country since its founding a decade ago.

"We do this to remind one another of our shared humanity, strengthen and build the connections between people, teach the value of listening, and weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that every life matters," StoryCorps says on their About page. 

Watch this, and many more, beautiful animated shorts on the StoryCorps site. It's a wonderful reminder that we ALL have a unique story to share.