YOUTH: An Introduction to Storytelling

December 13, 2022

Upon entering the room, we were immediately greeted by Sr. Nikhat, the organizer of this

wonderful year-long program, and the facilitators with their warm, inviting smiles, and kind

greetings. Although the space and people were foreign to most of us, the facilitators made it

their mission to help us feel welcomed and at home. And they succeeded! Within no time,

we were enjoying ourselves, talking amongst each other like old friends, and snacking on all

the treats they had prepared for us: crackers, cheese, baked goods, fruits, chips, and juice.

I feel like the warm-up games we played at the beginning of the session were just as

important as the workshop itself. Through the many fun, exciting, and engaging warm-up

games, we were able to get our blood flowing, break the awkward barrier between us, and

be ourselves around people who were strangers just yesterday.

This workshop’s main idea was storytelling, something we all enjoyed as kids, and continue

to enjoy as we get older. By engaging in the storytelling activity led by facilitators Derek and

Linda, we were able to get to know each other better, laugh with each other, and most

importantly have fun. We then told each other’s stories as if they were our own, going along

with the flow, and adding any small detail that came to our minds. They had told us to “Tell

the story as if you are the main character in that story. Make whatever changes you want,

remember you are molding this story to become your own.”

Everybody is a good storyteller. As American writer Robin Moore says: “Inside each of us is

a natural-born storyteller, waiting to be released.” The facilitators do a very good job of

helping us release that natural-born storyteller in a way that isn’t so direct and overwhelming.

Everybody has their own unique story, and it is through storytelling that we make

connections with one another, all humans, in all places, at all times.

Amina Yu