Have you ever wished that you could have asked more questions about your life story? I wish I had asked so many questions to my oldest family members while they were still here.

  • What were my parents and grandparents lives like, and their parents?
  • When, why and how did they come to the United States?
  • Where did they live when they first came the United States?
  • What do they remember about learning a new language and trying to find work?
  • What are some memories of the kindness they received or hardships they suffered?
  • What kind of work did do? At what ages?
  • What kinds of homes did they have?
  • How many times did they move?
  • How were their early years with their siblings?

My list of questions would go on and on.

I also so wish I could have asked details about their lives and about all the people in my family’s old photos. The faces, clothes and poses in my old photos are so stoic. I wonder what’s hiding behind their stares.

While my children haven’t yet been that curious about their life history, I am documenting what I remember of my life story, blending captions and stories with digitized photos, so that my children won’t experience quite as many of the unknowns and questions that I have.

Getting started of your life story might seem overwhelming, but once you have an idea about what the end goal is for your story, the photo sorting process will go much quicker. And when you are going through your old photos, perhaps that will prompt you to contact a friend or relative who would be able to fill in some questions of your life history.

Here are some end goal ideas for a legacy that you can share with every member of your family…