Weekend Thought : Your 12 Stories

Ali, what a great post to get the ideas rolling. To all of you who posted, those are some amazing lists. I am not sure what mine will consist of but one thing that struck me was that this is an album that should go in the emergency run and go bag. You know the one bag you would grab in a disaster. I know a bit of a morbid thougth, but think about the comfort and joy it could bring.

what a great idea. a few popped into my head just like that (marriage, growing up, etc) but the rest I will surely be contemplating.
what strikes me the most about this exercise is that if you're reflecting on this in your 40's (like me) you have a different perspective than if you are in your 20's. and that is the beauty of it. Someone commented that it would be different 10 years down the road. so true. so true.

Hi, Liz!
Fancy 'meeting' you here ... you have a wonderful list!

1. Influential teachers
2. Being selected for drill team (I know, this seems silly, but I never, ever thought I could do something athletic)
3. Becoming an exchange student to Panama
4. College experiences (Kalamazoo College, getting a doctorate in HOuston)
5. Living and teaching in Mexico City
6. Becoming a mom
7. Being a teacher
8. Travels
9. Hobbies
10.Friends
11. Hurricanes (in particular, Rita and Ike)
12. My family

My 12 stories:
1. My daughter. I am a single mom to a 3 year old and I love capturing all of the special moments of her life and savoring them.
2. My life in Germany. I was married and lived in Germany for 3 years where we were able to travel and see the world.
3. My quirks.
4. My trials I have been through and coping with them.
5. My family--a gift from God.
6. My aunt who passed away. She was truly an inspiration and my daughter is named after her.
7. My dog, Lola.
8. My love for scrapbooking and photography.
9. My true friends.
10. Family Holidays.
11. Spending time outside with my daughter.
12. What I hope and dream for my daughter.

This is fun to think about. And I think for many people it will take the pressure out of scrapping their past and themselves as they would have covered the essentials when they have made these 12 lo's and everything else would just be a bonus.

My daughter as a child
My son as a child
My daughter as an adult and a mom
My son as an adult and a dad
My granddaughters
My hometown
The places I've lived
My parents
My growing up
My meandering career
My favorite trips
My cousin and me

Sunrise
Birth
Life
Joy
Growth
Home
Quiet
Away
Change
Nature
Death
Sunset

Wow what great inspiration ! Thanks Ali and everyone who commented.

Funny - these lists are so unlike the topics of actual layouts you see in online galleries. Maybe we spend our energy scrapping the wrong stuff? You know - we have cute pictures of the kids playing outside, so we scrap those. Are you ladies actually going to scrap these lists?
I think I WILL make a book about me now. Even though it will be hard - not many cute pictures of the important stuff, and journaling will take forever. It won't have only 12 pages, but I like the idea of listing the most important topics, and then actually working on those ... and NOT those cute summer pictures of the kids.
Thanks Ali for putting things in perspective for me!

In no particular order
1) My mom - what I admire most about her and what I have learned from her
2) Summer camp - what I learned about myself and the person I grew to become as a result of my experience
3) My wedding and what it symbolizes to me
4) My honeymoon - a true adventure
5) My profession (linguistics) - how I came to be interested in it and the many places it has taken me
6) My research (in the Peruvian Amazon) - what I like and don't like about working in the jungle
7) Hanging out with my husband - capturing the every day simplicities but also the big dreams we have planned
8) Friends - my steroids!
9) Places I've lived - and how they have given me perspective
10) Creativity and art - what inspires me and what I like to create
11) College - a reflection on why people say your years in college are the best years of your life
12) My heritage (Swedish) and how it has shaped my life: traditions, family, religion

What an intriguing item #9 is! I love that you simply said "bagpipes" and left it to our imaginations. Just that one word makes me really want to know your story!

Lynne, more than any other of the AMAZING lists here, yours has inspired me the most. It's simply the way you're seeing yourself -- in view of your ancestors, in view of your personal moments, in view of your personality and of your roles in life. And #8 really nailed it down for me. I'm a 40-year-old singleton, never married, and my life has always been filled with ME. So when I think of who I am and what defines me, it is the things I love and dream for myself. I'm also a fanatic, and people always make that comment when describing me, so your notation really did help me narrow down my broad thinking into a simpler list of 12 stories that define me. Thank you for posting!

I, too, agree. It's up to me to get up and seek my truth. I don't need anyone to do this for me or with me. But, I do prefer laughing with someone than alone. My here and now enter my life from the past so must be still and allow myself to take it in. I have many decades on which to reflect. I am finding that my stories are connected with family, friend and upsetting any applecart that is near! (not on purpose)My 5th decade as it approaches the end, my life and heart are about growth, branching out, expanding my scope of practice and filling my heart with love.
Marilyn

1. My life as a kid growing up in a mill village
2. My life and friends in school
3. My family life growing up, holidays, celebrations
4. My life in high school and the 60's and 70's
5. My life in college and sorority
6. My life as a new bride - hopes and dreams
7. My life in the big city of Boston
8. My life as a new mom.
9. My life in radio.
10. My life with my daughter and husband.
11. My new life in Utah.
12. My life after breast cancer...and still standing!
13....OK I know only 12, but you must have.....Looking back at my life!

Definitely want to know about the bagpipes! :)

Great list, Katie. I like the positioning of #1 and #12.

Ali,
I just signed up for your class and here are my 12 stories that I would like to tell:
1. Life Lessons from my parents
2. Future plans for my family
3. Relationship with my sisters
4. My daughters relationship
5. Relationship with my husband
6. The many hats I wear-work/life balance (so wish I had)
7. What matters most to me
8. Predictions for the future
9. Qualities and traits that I have passed on to my children
10 Relationships between nieces and nephews
11. Living more of a creative life
12. Thoughts I want my daughters to know

I love the specificness of your list!!!

My 12 would have to be...
1. Family
2. Friends
3. Fall
4. Summer
5. Winter
6. Spring
7. My niece
8. My nephew
9. Love
10. Pets
11. Vacation
12. Favorite Things I can't live without