Do you know where your grandparents grew up?
Do you know where your parents met?
Do you know the story of your birth?
Researchers have found that kids who know the answers to these questions are more likely to overcome challenging situations in life. How many of these questions can you answer?
If there are any you can’t answer, see if your parents know.
Do these questions make you wonder anything else about your parents or grandparents?
You might ask:
- What was a particularly hard moment for you in school?
- Who was a close friend? What did you do together?
- Was there ever a time you felt embarrassed?
If your parents and grandparents never told these stories and never wrote these stories down, these stories would be forgotten.
What stories do you want to write so people can remember you?
One girl wrote down her experiences in a diary that is still read today. Her name was Anne Frank. “Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I’ve never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like writing.”
You can write too — to keep your family story alive.
Here are some prompts:
- What are your favorite stories about your parents or grandparents?
- What is your favorite food?
- What is one of the hardest things that has happened this year? How did you deal with it?
As you write down details about your life, you’re helping people in the future.