Creating Personal Stories

     Our family history group has been making a push for the more broad numbers of organization members to write a story about an ancestor or themselves and attach that story to an uploaded photograph. Preserving our ancestor's heritage certainly is important so that their posterity will have something to remember them by. However, we often forget that we are the ancestors to our own posterity. It is equally as important to preserve our own heritage.

Who Do You Want Writing Your History?

     The events that happen in your life are well known to you. You may still remember the emotions and sensory perceptions that went along with the event. Who better to write about the memorable events than YOU! Your children or grandchildren may remember pieces of your life, but they cannot record the events with as much meaning as you can put into your stories.

     The saying goes that 90% of a person's stories are lost after 3 generations. There are so many stories that I would love to know about my dad or my other ancestors, but those memories are lost forever. If only "someone" had just taken the time interview them and record those stories. This blog is about preserving YOUR STORIES though so I will write more about this.

Is Your Life Interesting?

     I wrote a story about an event while being a Navy Shipboard Medical Officer out in the South China Sea, attached some photos I had, and then shared it with my grown children. Not one of them knew about that experience, in yet it was a significant event for me at that time of life. If you are interested in seeing the story as an example, you can see it HERE. I realized that I had never related that story to them. Does this not commonly happen in each of our lives? We have our "stories" but they are not recorded?

     To answer the above question "Is your life interesting?" the answer is simple "Yes of course it is". The challenges you may have faced and how you overcame them are stories that can benefit greatly your posterity. All the stories combined become your personal history.

Do I Need To Write a Complex Personal History?

    I know that we get wrapped up in thinking about a personal history as a complex project culminating in a "book". Preserving stories is actually MUCH easier. We are simply writing down a series of "Memories" that we have of different life events. They could be one paragraph or several depending on what you remember about the event. What if your grammar "ain't so good?" Whatever your writing style, it is YOUR writing style and also helps others get to know you through your stories. I like the fact that you can attach multiple photographs to the story and then share the completed story with your family. Your family doesn't have to wait until you are dead to read your stories.

Get Acquainted With FamilySearch Memories

     One of the best things that I personally love about FamilySearch is their MEDIA GALLERY where photographs, audio recordings, documents, and of course stories can be permanently uploaded and then shared with family members. If you already have a FamilySearch account, then check out this LINK. You will need to log into FamilySearch to see the link. If you do not have a FamilySearch account, you can easily sign up for one FREE using this LINK.

Tutorial Resources To Help You Get Started

• For information on how to CREATE a story about yourself or an ancestor, click HERE.
• For information on how to SHARE a story with your family and others, click HERE.

Don't Forget About The Power of Stories!