There are so many stories tucked in the places we’ve been. From the places we’ve lived to the ones we’ve visited for one reason or another, our travels tell tales about the lives we’ve lived.
You would be amazed at all the adventures you’ve been on in your lifetime, no matter how young you are.
Let’s do a quick exercise…take out a piece of paper or open a blank word document on your computer and start jotting down places you’ve been.
Come on…this will only take a few minutes. I’m not asking you to write a story. Just jot down a few places.
Start with the homes you’ve lived in.
Then the homes of family members you’ve visited over the years...including your grandparents’ house.
Then the school field trips you went on, the family vacations and the business trips.
Don’t forget where you went on your honeymoon and on spring breaks in college.
Did you come up with at least ten different places? Now how hard was that?
I bet you have a story for each place you went to…
By just tapping into your memory bank, you could relive these adventures at any time. And chances are you will probably enjoy yourself just thinking about them.
Now, I challenge you to do something with this quick list. If you keep a journal, then tonight or tomorrow morning, whenever it is you write in your journal, pick a place and write a story about it. Tell about something that happened in that place. Describe it. What did it look like, feel like, smell like, sound like, taste like? Who else was there? Why were you there and what did you do?
If writing letters is more your thing, then pick a place from this list and write a letter to a person that was in that place with you. Ask him/her if she remembers being there with you. Then relive it by reminding him/her of what you remember most of the experience. What did you like most and/or what did you like least? You can then send the letter (make a copy of it first) or just keep it in a safe place.
These are two easy ways to add to your memoir-writing project. When you’re done, consider sharing your story with us!
Try your hand at a longer list...you just might find you are a world traveler. For more fun writing assignments, check out our Family Tree page.