The Story of my Life

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Step 4a....An example of Format A, chronological

(See step 4)

Chapter 1…..Birth and Pre-School Years

Chapter 2….Grade School Years

Chapter 3….High School Years

Chapter 4….My Parents

Chapter 5….My Siblings

Chapter 6….My Grandparents

Chapter 7….My Other Relatives

Chapter 8….My First Marriage and Divorce

Chapter 9….My Children

Chapter 10….My Second Marriage

Chapter 11….My Life as a Widow

Chapter 12….Mid-Life Years

Chapter 13….The Golden Years

Chapter 14….My Religion, Spirituality, and Spiritual Moments

Chapter 15….My Friends

Chapter 16….My Health

Chapter 17….Places I’ve Been, Things I’ve Seen

Chapter 18….Hobbies, Interests, Likes and Dislikes

Chapter 19….Personal Struggles and Growth

Chapter 20….Thoughts About Life and What I Have Learned

Chapter 21….Heartaches and Regrets

Chapter 22….Hopes and Dreams For My Children and Grandchildren

Step 4....Decide on a format for your life story

Now that you have finished step 3, you now need to decide how you want to write your story.

There are several formats that you can use to write your life story. You can even use all three formats, if you want to.


Format A...Chronological order. Write about the important events in your life in the order in which they occurred, such as: the forties, fifties, etc. OR...use a more flexible chronological order, such as: earliest memories, friends and school, fun times, talents, etc. OR...this: birth to 5 years, childhood 5-12, teen years 13-19, courtship and marriage, vocation, married life and children, middle-age and towards retirement, reminiscing, words of wisdom, personal philosophy, etc. It is all up to you as to how you would like to portray your life story.


Format B... Using main topics. Write your story in the form of essays and episodes. Decide on the main topics of your life that you wish to write about. Write them in any order when you are in the mood, then assemble them in an order that seems logical to you.


Format C... Choosing a theme. Perhaps you may feel that there has been a dominant theme that has guided or directed your life—your mission in life. The theme may come from a scriptural passage or event, a spiritual gift, or a talent. In separate essays, discuss this guiding theme.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Step 3...Gather your life together

Have you made your decision to write your life story in a notebook or a word processor? (step 2).

When writing your life story it is beneficial to have a basis with which to be begin and also help you along the way. Your life has many parts or time periods to it, and you supposedly have kept papers and mementos from each part. You will use those items in helping to write your life story...not only writing about the time frame that the item came from, but the item itself will help to jog your memory of a lot of other incidents.

So, to begin this gathering process, obtain a large box and go all around your house, looking in drawers, boxes, closets, attic, garage, basement...and GATHER up all the documents and items that pertain to your life, such as birth certificates, award certificates, diplomas, letters and cards, school memorabilia, photos, souvenirs from trips, plays you have attended, old calendars and date books, scrapbooks, yearbooks, newspaper clippings, report cards...any item or piece of paper that pertains to you and your life.

When you feel you have gathered everything, then begin to sort each item into certain piles: “birth and pre-school”; “elementary school”; “high school”; “college”; “marriage”. Now take each pile and put the items within that pile in chronological order as best you can. When you are finished doing this with each pile, then put each chronological pile into a separate box or envelope and label it.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Step 2....Notebook or Word Processor?

We all have a life story to tell. Some of us have lived longer than others and some of us have lived far more exciting lives than others. It does not matter. What matters is that we write our story down for the benefit of our posterity. Three generations from now I certainly do not want to be forgotten in my families memories.

So now that you are all charged up (step 1) and ready to go......let’s begin. Decide what type of notebook you want to record your life in. There are all types of notebooks from spiral to nice hard bound journal format types. Be sure to choose the kind that will endure time....and contain acid free paper. That is very important.

Pencil is for making mistakes....but ink is lasting. I would go for the ink. Look ahead and be prepared to end up with several notebooks worth of your life story. Remember...your life does not end until you take your last breath....and neither should writing about it end until then.

Pen and paper.....wait.....you might decide you want to write your story in a word processor. One recommendation if going this route....please write PART of your life story on paper in your own handwriting. Your posterity would absolutely LOVE seeing and having your handwriting. The part of your story I would suggest to write in your hand..would be the very beginning of your story.

Using a word processor is easy for editing, for adding in something you forgot, and for printing out lots of copies for family members to have. Just make sure you remember to keep current backup copies of the file.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Step 1....make the decision...to begin to write your own life story, now

Realize the great importance and purpose it is to leave your legacy...the story of YOU... for your family and future generations of your family.

Do you happen to have a deceased ancestor who no one in your family knows anything about? Your ancestor did not leave a journal, or any writings about them self, so the descendants of that ancestor, like you, are left with nothing......nothing that tells what that person was like, what they thought and felt and what they did and accomplished in their life. This is a blood relative of yours that lived...existed....and yet they will remain forever a mystery....their life story forever buried with them.

To learn and know more about who YOU are....it helps to learn about who you CAME FROM.

Don’t let this happen to you. Make sure you leave YOUR legacy...your life story behind. As we never know when our time to leave this life will be....can we procrastinate much longer?