I think that everyone should write their own personal history at some point in their lives. You may put it off saying that you haven’t reached an age where you are ready to begin to decide what decisions were the most important in your life. Or you might struggle with what events you should include. I suggest that every ten or so years you take the time to write, rewrite or add to your own personal history.
I have written my own personal history, and it is a very rewarding experience. It was surprising to me the way the events came out onto paper. The events that I ended up focusing on were not the ones that I would have planned to write about. I also know, as I grow older that my perspective will change again, and I think it will be interesting to read my many different versions of my life. Current experiences change the way that you look at the past.
It is also important to begin to do something now. My husband’s grandmother passed away suddenly a few years ago. She had started and stopped several times in writing her personal history. My mother-in-law found the attempts as she was cleaning out her home. She pieced them together for the family as a Christmas present a few years later. It meant a lot to her to have her mother’s own words about her life as a child and a teenager. She also cherished the documents because several of them were written by hand.
You can start by describing your first memories. Write about your family, the vacations you went on, what you did together. Remember to put in sensory details. Your family isn’t going to know that your grandmother’s house was red painted brick with roses in the front. They aren’t going to know that the reason you love to eat Ding Dongs frozen is because your grandfather brought them to you that way as a child. As you share these details, your life will come alive for those reading your story.
If that seems too difficult to approach remember you don’t need to sit down and write your entire history in one session. You can write fifteen minutes a time or for an hour a week and eventually it will be finished. It is important to begin. One thing that won’t take too long, but would be invaluable for your family, is to write down your testimony. That is a legacy that your family would truly enjoy.