I love stories.

I can remember in first grade (and I think this is the only thing I remember in first grade) when a storyteller came to our classroom and told two stories. I know now the neuroscience behind memory so it is very possible that one of the parents just made up a story on the spot, but for me, this was a celebrity moment.

The storyteller told two “scary” stories for Halloween and I memorized both of them word for word. I can recall telling my parents the same stories later that day. I can still remember them.

Many years later, when I became a first-grade teacher, I remember being impressed at how my students remembered the stories I told them. Word for word, they would recite those stories back to me. They were clearly important to them and in time I made the connection. Stories are food.

Since then I have gone "all in" on storytelling. Lisabeth Sewell and I created Sparkle Stories, where I told over 1,400 original stories. Meredith Markow and I created Story Steps Education where we now teach kids of all ages how powerful and fun storytelling (and story-listening) can be.

For the last five years, I've been traveling around the country working with schools, municipalities, and initiatives on how to use storytelling for community development and boosting inclusion and belonging.

Over and over again, people are surprised at how easy these tools are to use and how effective and enduring they are in practice. We are surprised because we forget that we've been doing this for literally hundreds of thousands of years. It is one of our oldest skills and strategies. We are literally wired for storytelling.

So perhaps it’s time to get more conscious and intentional about practicing it.