Everyone has a story to tell. Countless stories actually. An array of stories that all blend together into one unique lifetime. Perhaps you have kept a diary or did when you were a teenager. Perhaps you have taken time throughout the years to put memories to paper or the keyboard. If you have or if you haven’t, you do have a story to tell. The best time to commit these stories to paper or recordings is right now. These stories can be for your family to listen to or for your eyes and ears only as a way to look back with the gained perspective of gained experience. You are not the same person you were when these events took place. Whether you realize it or not, each event, each happening, good or bad, memorable or just a small piece in time, has affected who you are today. Looking back on them now may yield new discoveries or insights that you just couldn’t see when you were in the midst of the moment. Whether you want to pass on the details or glean the lessons learned from a lifetime of experience, recording memories is a treasure that you can share.
Have you ever been handed a box of pictures and have no idea whose faces you see? Each person in each photo has a story to tell, lessons to share, and a purpose. Pictures of you are just as rich, your experiences just as valuable as any of those nameless, story-less people in those photos. Their stories may have been lost to time, but yours need not be.
You may want to write them yourselves. You may benefit from being interviewed by a practiced personal historian who can help draw out the stories and the meaning behind them. You may prefer a video recording of some sort. Perhaps your written history might be accompanied by photographs throughout the years or memorabilia.
Okay, perhaps this project is starting to feel overwhelming. Do not despair. Take one period of life at a time: childhood, the teenage years, young adulthood, your early marriage, your children as young people or adults, your schooling, your early professional life, retirement, hobbies, travel, and any number of other categories. Take one at a time. Reminisce. Do not let yourself feel rushed or bogged down. Try to enjoy the process. See what new revelations you have about yourself. You decide if you want to share. That is completely up to you. You have a story to tell. It is your story. Just start telling it.