The Autobiography Comes First

During our workshop at the August Wilson Center for the Arts last week, we heard some strong, eloquent writings from women in our group who shared their biographies with the class. I personally was moved as they each described their inner thoughts and feelings about themselves and their family with poetic description and certainty.

I do hope that those recollections will be re-written (on something other than the back of that pedigree chart) and honored, and cherished.

We all need to write about ourselves first. Write your autobiography and try to give the reader an idea of who you are, and what a normal day is like for you. Where do you live and with whom? What do you do for a living? What are your likes and dislikes? What are your hobbies, and means of worship? How do you eat?

These may seem like random ideas--because they are. Sometimes it helps to have a trigger question posed for you, or a sentence stem to begin your writing.

I also enjoy the exercise of creating a time line of your life. Beginning with your birth simply identify events that have impacted you, such as big moves, admittance to schools or graduations; the birth of a stepsister or the death of a friend.

You may also choose to create a parallel line during your years that highlight community news or national events. Doing this not only illustrates how we all influence one another, but also helps you to see how your ancestors’ lives will likewise be impacted by what was going on in the world for them.

Thirdly, I like to ask workshop participants to write down their outlook and future goals. What do we want to be known as and how do we want to put our stamp on America. We are history in the making. What we do today will be history tomorrow.

Bekezela commented that, "we spend so much time looking outward, we don't often take the time to reflect on ourselves."

So please pause before continuing on your life-long journey through your family tree, and take some time to identify yourself to the world, by writing down who you are.