2021, week 6: How to Create/Record Your Personal History

As a creative writing major the phrase I heard the most was "Just write." The same can be said for your personal history. Every project has to start somewhere. No one's going to know if you went through a dozen drafts, or deleted some stories. Take the opportunity to preserve your memories and thoughts while they're still fresh in your mind, because you'll age faster than you realize and some of those memories will begin to slip away.

What should I write about? What if I’m not interesting enough?

First off, if someone’s saying you’re not interesting then you might be hanging out with the wrong people. We each have a unique story. We all were born, raised, and taught in different ways. Even identical twins have differences.

Start with the basics: birth date, parents’ names, hospital/city where you were born, siblings’ names. What was it like growing up? What were your parents’ jobs? Friends/neighbors/playmates from childhood?

I hate writing. Can I do videos or audio recordings?

Yes! Just think about who you want to have access to those videos or audio recordings. Maybe a private YouTube channel is best for you.

There are loads of resources to help you preserve your history. One of my favorites is www.familysearch.org. It’s free. You can keep track of your ancestry. And, if you’re a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it’ll help you keep track of church ordinances.

One of my favorite parts on www.familysearch.org is a section called “Record My Story”. Several questions are displayed, that you can answer via a voice recording, or you can answer your own question. Your answers are then saved to your profile. I’ve recorded a thing or two there, and someday my children will be able to listen to it.

This feels overwhelming.

Starting your personal history can be a daunting task. Just remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to detail everything that has happened in your life. Start small and preserve just a little bit of your life.

I’ll be right there with you.

 

Love,

D. J. Lathrop

 

Do you journal? What’s a way that you’re preserving your personal history?