List addresses and descriptions of places you’ve lived. Include unique features you remember (the tile in the bathroom, the fabric on the living room drapes, the oak cabinet grandpa made, the funny black grillwork by the front door, the attic window that banged during a storm, the first time you tried to wallpaper a room, the second hand furniture you bought for your first home...)
Favorite Anything
(What are your special delights?)Favorite color, favorite smells, favorite time of year or time of day, favorite foods, favorite music, favorite holidays, favorite ice cream, favorite flower, favorite chair...
Belongings
At each age, what were your prized belongings? Favorite toys, favorite clothes (in grade school, as a teen, as a young adult...), favorite heirlooms, favorite "stuff" (maybe a photo, a fishing lure, your first transistor radio, a piece of bric a brac, a coffee cup, and old thread-bare sweater...)
Pets
..(or barnyard animals)What do you remember about your pet(s)? Their names? When and how you got them? What did they look like? What foods did they like? What funny, embarrassing or frustrating things did they do? What was special about your pet?
Cars or Other Vehicles
List the year and model of each car you’ve owned. What was special about each?
Holidays and Vacation Time
At each stage of your life, how did you spend your vacations? Where did you go? How did you get there? What did you do? Who'd you go with? What special things do you remember? (...the long ride in the car, the campfire that wouldn’t light, the outhouse at the cabin, the train ride through France, the customs official in Germany.
Hobbies and Leisure Time
At each stage of your life, what did you like to do? (Jump rope, climb a tree house, baseball, stamp collecting, movies, drag racing, hunting, reading, woodmaking, sewing, baking, photography, gardening...) What were your unique pleasures? What special memories do any of these hold for you?
Culture and the Arts
What part did the arts play in your life: MUSIC—What are your early memories of music? What kind did you/do you prefer? What are your favorite songs, hymns, classical works, musicals? Who are your favorite performers? Have your tastes changed over the years?
Literature
—How important have books been to you throughout your life? What were your most memorable or favorite books? Your favorite authors? Do you like Shakespeare? Mysteries? Gothic romance? Science fiction? What magazines have you subscribed to over the years?
Radio-Movies-Television
— What was your first exposure? What were your favorite shows or movies? Who were your favorite stars? How often and when did you listen to the radio? How often did you see movies or television? What special memories do they invoke?
Theater and Concerts
—How often did you attend? What type of events did you enjoy?
Important Events in Your Life
At each stage of your life, what were the highs and the lows?
Humorous or Embarrassing Moments
We all have these. What are yours?
Accomplishments---Failures
Was it the homerun with the bases loaded? The piano recital in 3rd grade? Helping Dad build the boat house? Your first cooking disaster? Signing a major customer? A broken relationship? A beautiful quilt? Any awards or trophies?
Special Moments
What are the special moments, dates and events that are most special for you? A wedding, a birth, a special evening out, a conversation, a speech... Describe the moment. What happened, why was it important, how did you feel, who was there?
Other
This can include any other interesting, unique experiences. Times you were "in a jam"? Times you surprised yourself? Times when you really said and did the right thing? Times you didn’t but wish you had? Opportunities you let get by you?
People in Your Life
At each stage of your life, who were the important people for you and why? What made them special? Who were your friends? What did you do together? Who influenced you? How?
Private Thoughts and Opinions
At each stage of your life, what were the things you thought about:
Dreams
What were your dreams of wanting to do or see or be? What did you want to be when you "grew up"? Have you accomplished your dreams? What are your dreams now?
Fears
What were your fears? The bogeyman under the bed? Being left alone? Giving a speech? Are you superstitious?
Philosophies
What are the philosophies you’ve lived by as a child, a teen, an adult? Have they changed? What are your philosophies now?
Opinions
Do you feel strongly on specific subjects? Ecology, war, the value of friends, life after death, unions, honesty, changing technology, changing values? Politics?
Miscellaneous
These can be lists of anything you might want to record whether serious, whimsical, insightful or just plain unique. Examples:
- Things I’ve learned (or didn’t learn)
- Things I think are wonderful, "neat," dumb, stupid, scary, silly...
- Things you know you should throw or give away but can’t bear to part with? What are your connections with these?
- People you never liked and why?
- Things you always wanted to do but didn’t have the guts
- Projects you put off
- Times you were mischievous and got caught
- Names of fellow students in grade school, buddies in the Army, members of your card club...
- Gifts you remember getting or giving for Christmas, birthdays? Mother’s Day? Valentine’s Day?
- Natural disasters you’ve survived (blizzards, tornadoes, floods, fires...)
- Things that bugged you about others (your brothers/sisters, friends, bosses, etc
What are the things that have changed in your lifetime? What have been some of the important inventions you’ve seen? How did they do things in "the olden days":
- What was it like going to the dentist, the doctor, the barber, the tailor?
- What was mass transit like and what kind of street maintenance was common?
- What were the police and fire departments like?
- How were things delivered, like the mail, groceries, milk, newspaper, ice
- How was the family laundry or housekeeping done?
- How have clothing styles changed such as bathing suits?
- How have things changed in the kitchen? (Ex: How was toast made before the electric toaster was invented?)
- How much did things cost? Eggs, stamps, newspaper, milk?
- And on and on
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