Ever hear a story so good that it touches you in an unexplainable way? Well that was the case for me last night. It may have been that it was late, but when this particular animated short came on, I was happy that I had kept the television on a bit longer. I ended up watching the animated short, and then immediately went online to find out more about it. I didn’t know what it was called at the time, only the characters names and a brief description of the story told. What I found was even more stories presented in the same manner at StoryCorps’ website.

The animation style is great; portraying the actual people as cartoon characters yet still remaining very true to life, thus making the story that much more interesting and meaningful. These are stories told to us by the people that lived the experience, and for some reason they feel truly authentic. Some are obviously more positive than others, yet all of them are filled with a real sense of acknowledgment of the important things throughout this journey we like to call life.

The first thing I noticed when I came across the website is that they did not only focus on creating animated shorts. In fact, that was only a small portion of what the website has to offer. The majority of the site is dedicated to real life stories, audio of people sharing past experiences or memories. There are hundreds of stories, most of which are not more than five minutes long. Each story is filled with so much heart that it never feels impersonal. If you are the type of person that enjoys talking to others and hearing past experiences then you will definitely dig this site. I found myself listening to story after story, learning a wee bit more about life at the close of each one.

All in all, I’m really happy I stumbled across StoryCorps. Its great to find a little hope within the human voice, as alluded to within one of the animated shorts (“The Human Voice”). Each story is meaningful and a little peek into what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. Follow ‘em on Twitter @storycorps. Get their iPhone app or check out the podcast, too. Whatever you do, don’t miss this one. It’s truly a great find, and I’d hate for you to pass it by.