For Christmas, my sister-in-law got me a subscription to Storyworth, a service that records people's stories. They send me a question each week to write about some aspect of my life, both past and present. Then after a year of questions, they will publish them in a book.
I am very pleased that I have been able to keep up with the questions, even though answering them can be time-consuming. I try to be thorough, including as many names, dates, and addresses as I can figure out, and while collecting this data is interesting, it takes time.
It's been a struggle to do a daily A-Z blog post and work on the Storyworth queries. Some people love to write, need to write. That's not me. Writing is something I do to form connections with others and record memories. All that means is that I am very proud of myself for my writing efforts thus far because, given a choice, I would usually choose to do something else (like work in the yard, read a book, watch reruns, etc.).
Below are the questions I've answered so far for Storyworth. There are some interesting ones here that might open conversations with others who you want to learn more about.
What was your Mom like when you were a child?
What Was It Like When You Went from High School to College?
How did you get your first job?
What were your grandparents like?
Where did you go on vacations as a child?
How did you choose your major in college?
How did you learn to ride a bicycle?
What have you changed your mind about over the years?
What stories have you been told about yourself as a baby?
Tell me about an adventure you've been on.
What is the best job you've ever had?
Did you ever move as a child? What was that experience like?
Did you have a car in high school?
Did you have any nicknames as a child? How did you feel about them?
Have you ever had a "supernatural" experience or an experience you couldn't explain?
Next up:
What is one of your favorite trips that you've taken? What made it great?
Wow storyworth feels really worth giving a shot. So do u just record and send? No need to type? I will check it out any way! Good that u r doing it....it's like ur live journal....and ya writing basically is connecting with ppl for me too .good luck with storyworth. Would wait to kno more!
ReplyDeleteDropping by from a to z "The Pensive"
Storyworth sends an email every week with a writing prompt. You write your response and send it as a replay to the email. You can choose a different prompt if you want and add pictures. I'm trying to include information that I wished I had when I've been researching ancestors, in case anyone is interested in the future, as well as tell stories. Oral recordings are another way to go, but Storyworth is a print version.
DeleteThat sounds so interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really wish is that we could get my father-in-law to answer some of these questions, but he is resistant. He doesn't mind reminiscing occasionally, but balks at any formal kind of questioning.
DeleteYou should be pleased with yourself! That sounds like work--fun work, but still, effort is involved. It reminds me of my photo albums that I make through Shutterfly after our family vacations--it's a sometimes stressful task but in the end, it's a nice personal history of time that we spent together.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of others who make photo albums after their vacations and it always sounds like such a good idea. But I have as of yet to do it. I record the highlights of many of our trips here on the blog, but I don't include faces of personal details that I might otherwise. Maybe next time.
DeleteSounds like a great gift to give to someone. Very well done on managing to respond to the prompts as well as keeping up with the A-to-Z posts! You are almost at the end of the month! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, almost there. I'll be glad when the challenge is over. Of course, there was no reason that I had to do it or couldn't have skipped a day or two, but I like to finish what I start.
DeleteI hadn't heard of Storyworthy but I like the concept. I'll have to look into it. I often wonder if my kids/grands will want to know more about me/hubby after we pass on that I might not have mentioned to them or forgot to mention or they weren't interested at the time. I know my mom shared a lot of stories with us about her growing up/young adult life but there were some things I thought about asking her but by then she had already passed. I like how the company provides you with the questions. I bet it has been triggering a lot of memories for you as you answer the questions.
ReplyDeletebetty
My mother wrote her autobiography after she retired because I had asked her some questions. It is wonderful to have. However, she left out some of the important parts of her childhood because she didn't want to write bad things about people who were still living.
DeleteI don't know if anyone will be interested in the future, but it has been interesting to think about the questions. And it's been interesting to talk about them with my sister's and get their perspectives.