“Who is going to care?” Have you or someone you know wondered whether your story is worth preserving? Mark Twain said, “There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside the dullest exterior, there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.”
You have gained much wisdom and experience in your life that can be of great benefit to your family and associates. Your children and grandchildren, along with the many people whose lives you have touched along the way, are proud of you and earnestly want to know the real you. Perhaps they've already been after you to record and preserve your story.
There is an innate desire to know the stories behind the facts of the people we care about. Furthermore, life stories can bring people closer together and mend relationships as individuals understand your motives and deep-seated desires. The lessons you have learned and the joys you have cherished during your life thus far can be of great emotional and practical benefit to your loved ones. Life stories can share wisdom and lessons in engaging ways without seeming to lecture. Just as you have learned from the lives and examples of others who came before you, let your life be a guide, comfort, or inspiration to others who will come after you.
Oprah Winfrey has said, "I urge you to pursue preserving your personal history to allow your children and grandchildren to know who you were as a child and what your hopes and dreams were." A life story is a priceless treasure that will be cherished for generations to come. Sometimes we only know the value of such stories after it is too late and the details are lost to the living. You may have experienced the desire to know more about your parents or ancestors only to be frustrated by a lack of information. Similarly, someone will want to know your story.
Though the task may be daunting, begin now. It’s far better to record something, incomplete and inadequate as it might be, than to leave a void of information.
