Make Gathering Your History a Priority

As a genealogist, looking backwardss is very easy. The journey back through the history of an ancestors life brings about an interesting story. It is amazing how many details can be found about our ancestors in all the records we research. Even with all the records one finds, we will never know exactly what their life was like, unless they left their own account behind.

This cycle can continue through the generations after us, unless we take a stand and work on our own history. Many times we are so concerned about searching backwards that we forget that we are not putting for the effort needed for ourselves. As I have researched my ancestors, I have realized some of the things which I wished were included in their histories. Think about what you would like to know about your ancestors, and try to leave that behind for your descendants. Here are a few things I came up with:

1. Journals: you can choose to write your journal online or on paper. If you are going to type your journal, you might think about leaving your descendants a little bit of your own handwriting. A connection can be made between you and your ancestors by seeing their own personal handwriting.
2. Share the good times in your life, but also share the hard times. Our lives have ups and downs and so will your descendants. You can help them through their lives by sharing how you were able to make through some of your hard times.
3. Write about historical events and how they affected your life. A large example would be 9/11. Let your descendants know how you felt on this day and how you felt it changed America. You can also tell about things that happen in your state, city, or neighborhood. This adds unique details to your history, which will create a picture of what your entire life was like.
4. Recognize moments in your life to share. Make it a priority to put something together after a trip or event in your life. If you wait too long, it becomes hard to sit down and remember your experiences. You forget things, and too much has happened since that you feel you have to put together.
5. Don't just write your history. Remember to share photos of you and your life. When you share a picture online or in books remember to identify who is in the photo. You might even consider putting information about the event and the date the photo was taken. If these things are not connected with that photo, things will be lost.
6. Include others in your history. You might think about bringing your family together to talk about a certian event in your life. As you are together, you might think about recording it. You will find that your siblings will have different views about the event. Even with all the different perspectives, it will be in your own voice, and your descendants will be able to listen to all involved. 
7. While you have time, remember to interview your grandparents and parents. They know about people you don't know. They can also share about their lives, and fill you in parts of your own life which you don't remember.

The main point is to share your life with those that are here and those who will come after you are gone. Remember that we have a chance to leave something great for our descendants, but sometimes it feels like an impossible task. You don't have to write your history all at one time, nor do you have to use only one method. This is something we all need to work on, so together we can make this task happen. Join us this year in our efforts to collect our own history. Watch as we give tips, tricks, questions, and ways to do this work. Together we can find ways to get better at putting our history together.