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=== What Has Motivated You to Write This Personal History? === | === What Has Motivated You to Write This Personal History? === | ||
''History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.'' (Sir Winston Churchill) | ''History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.'' (Sir Winston Churchill) <br><br>Here is a good place to tell your reader why you are writing this personal history. Was it because your family or friends wanted you too? Or did you decide to do it on your own? If so, why? What may have motivated you to begin this project can be of help to others who maybe thinking of doing the same thing themselves. <br> | ||
<br><br | |||
*How old are you at present? | *How old are you at present? | ||
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=== Parent's History === | === Parent's History === | ||
''The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, and the second half by our children.'' (Clarence Darrow)<br><br>Now I admit that these questions are very superficial | ''The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, and the second half by our children.'' (Clarence Darrow)<br><br> | ||
Now I admit that these questions are very superficial. If you want to make a far more detail history of your parent’s then you may want to interview them using all the questions in this guide. <br><br> | |||
==== Father's History ==== | ==== Father's History ==== | ||
*Who is your father? | *Who is your father? | ||
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==== Mother's History ==== | ==== Mother's History ==== | ||
*Who is your mother? | *Who is your mother? | ||
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=== Your Beginnings === | === Your Beginnings === | ||
''There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.'' (George Santayana)<br><br> | ''There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.'' (George Santayana)<br><br> | ||
For the first years of your life, you will obviously have to consult with family. If you don’t like taking notes or afraid you’ll not remember all that you were told, you might think about using a audio recorder or camcorder. Not only do you have a recording of what was said but you a recording of the person saying it which may be a bonus if they are a relative. If it is a parent or grandparent, it may be the only record your decendents have of them. | |||
==== Birth ==== | ==== Birth ==== | ||
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==== If Adopted ==== | ==== If Adopted ==== | ||
*Why did your adopted parents want to adopt a child? | *Why did your adopted parents want to adopt a child? | ||
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=== Your Family === | === Your Family === | ||
''A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.'' (Ogden Nash) <br><br> | ''A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.'' (Ogden Nash) | ||
<br><br>Tell us about the family you grew up in. While you’re at it try to get audio or better yet, video recordings of them to pass down. Consider giving these records to their children too. | |||
==== Brothers and Sisters ==== | ==== Brothers and Sisters ==== | ||
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==== Vacations and Holidays ==== | ==== Vacations and Holidays ==== | ||
''I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up - they have no holidays.'' (Henny Youngman) <br> | ''I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up - they have no holidays.'' (Henny Youngman) <br><br> | ||
*What religious holidays did your family celebrate during the year? | *What religious holidays did your family celebrate during the year? | ||
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==== Death of Family Members and Friends ==== | ==== Death of Family Members and Friends ==== | ||
''The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveler returns.'' (Shakespear) <br> | ''The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveler returns.'' (Shakespear) <br><br> | ||
*Who were the family members and friends whose death you can remember that had an affect on you? | *Who were the family members and friends whose death you can remember that had an affect on you? | ||
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=== Teenage Years === | === Teenage Years === | ||
''The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another.'' (Quentin Crisp) | |||
<br><br>These are questions which deal with what you were learning in the teenage years when you were trying to find yourself and your place in this world. | |||
*Did you have a hobby at this time? | *Did you have a hobby at this time? | ||
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=== School Days === | === School Days === | ||
''We all learn by experience but some of us have to go to summer school.'' (Peter De Vries) | ''We all learn by experience but some of us have to go to summer school.'' (Peter De Vries) | ||
==== Pre-School ==== | ==== Pre-School ==== | ||
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=== EARLY RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES === | === EARLY RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES === | ||
''Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favors you have received.'' (Seneca) <br><br>Religion plays a large roll in many of our lives. The questions here are for members of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints. However, they can be reworded if you are a member of some other Christian denomination. | ''Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favors you have received.'' (Seneca) | ||
<br><br>Religion plays a large roll in many of our lives. The questions here are for members of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints. However, they can be reworded if you are a member of some other Christian denomination. | |||
==== Early Years ==== | ==== Early Years ==== | ||
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=== Growning Up Jewish === | === Growning Up Jewish === | ||
''How many Jewish Mothers does it take to change a light bulb? "Never mind, I just sit here in the dark. I wouldn't want to bother anybody."'' | ''How many Jewish Mothers does it take to change a light bulb? "Never mind, I just sit here in the dark. I wouldn't want to bother anybody."'' | ||
*Did you grow up in a Jewish or in a Gentile neighborhood? | *Did you grow up in a Jewish or in a Gentile neighborhood? | ||
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=== Young Adult === | === Young Adult === | ||
<i>When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not.</i>(Mark Twain) | |||
You may have by now made a career choice and were pursuing higher education or additional training in your field of interest. Maybe the military interrupted your plans. You probably were thinking about marriage, too. Here are questions that relate to these major life decisions. | You may have by now made a career choice and were pursuing higher education or additional training in your field of interest. Maybe the military interrupted your plans. You probably were thinking about marriage, too. Here are questions that relate to these major life decisions. | ||
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=== Additional Schooling === | === Additional Schooling === | ||
''A college education never hurt anybody who was willing to learn after he got it.'' (Author Unknown) | ''A college education never hurt anybody who was willing to learn after he got it.'' (Author Unknown) | ||
==== Trade School ==== | ==== Trade School ==== | ||
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=== Military === | === Military === | ||
<i>I do not doubt that whatever misery He permits will be for our ultimate good unless by rebellious will we convert it to evil.</i>(C. S. Lewis) | |||
*Were you in the Armed Forces? | *Were you in the Armed Forces? | ||
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=== Family Changes === | === Family Changes === | ||
''We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.'' (Harrison Ford) <br><br>Not all relationships go smoothly. Here are questions if you were divorce and remarriaged. | ''We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.'' (Harrison Ford) | ||
<br><br>Not all relationships go smoothly. Here are questions if you were divorce and remarriaged. | |||
==== Divorce ==== | ==== Divorce ==== | ||
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=== Ages 30 - 40 === | === Ages 30 - 40 === | ||
<i>Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.</i>(Groucho Marx) | |||
<br><br>Life may be settling down to routine by now and you are playing the game of getting ahead in life. Here you can also describe your efforts to teach your children and watch them grow up. For many, thirty marks the end of youth and the real beginning of adulthood. | |||
*How did you feel on your thirtieth birthday? | *How did you feel on your thirtieth birthday? | ||
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=== Ages 40 - 50 === | === Ages 40 - 50 === | ||
<i>A person is always startled when he hears himself seriously called an old man for the first time.</i>(Oliver Wendell Holmes) | |||
<br><br>Your probably thinking about how your life as been up to this point. Here you can tell about your successes in your occupation and/or family. | |||
*How did you feel about turning forty? | *How did you feel about turning forty? | ||
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=== Ages 50 -65 === | === Ages 50 -65 === | ||
''I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming... suddenly you find - at the age of 50, say - that a whole new life has opened before you.'' (Agatha Christie) <br><br>Some go through “mid life crisis” at about this time. You may wonder if you should have taken a different course. You may feel deeply about some failures you have endured. Here is the place to tell about that. | ''I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming... suddenly you find - at the age of 50, say - that a whole new life has opened before you.'' (Agatha Christie) | ||
<br><br>Some go through “mid life crisis” at about this time. You may wonder if you should have taken a different course. You may feel deeply about some failures you have endured. Here is the place to tell about that. | |||
*How did you feel about turning fifty? | *How did you feel about turning fifty? | ||
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=== Retirement === | === Retirement === | ||
''It is time I stepped aside for a less experienced and less able man.'' (Scott Elledge) <br><br>Some look forward to this time in their life. They think they can now take it easy and let the world worry about all the things it likes to worry about. But many find life even busier. | ''It is time I stepped aside for a less experienced and less able man.'' (Scott Elledge) | ||
<br><br>Some look forward to this time in their life. They think they can now take it easy and let the world worry about all the things it likes to worry about. But many find life even busier. | |||
*When did you retire? | *When did you retire? | ||
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=== Final Words === | === Final Words === | ||
''You may have deceived yourself, but experience is not trying to deceive you. ''(C. S. Lewis) <br>Here you can put any words of wisdom, sum up things learned and say something to each important person in your life. | ''You may have deceived yourself, but experience is not trying to deceive you. ''(C. S. Lewis) | ||
<br><br>Here you can put any words of wisdom, sum up things learned and say something to each important person in your life. | |||
*Say something to each of your children individually. | *Say something to each of your children individually. | ||
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=== Questions for a Topical Personal History === | === Questions for a Topical Personal History === | ||
<i>I once asked a friend what he thought about a particular event and said he did not know as yet because he had not written about it.</i>(C.C. Smith) | |||
If you would rather write about topics rather than a narrative, here are a few topics you might consider writing on. These will give the reader great insights to your character and thinking processes. In addition, you will learn things about yourself that you may not have known. | |||
*What makes you happy? | *What makes you happy? | ||
*What makes you sad? | *What makes you sad? | ||