What If You Wrote Your Life Story One Memory at a Time?

Do you ever find yourself reminiscing?

I don’t know if you are like me, but I often find myself thinking about the past. I remember things I used to do as a child, funny moments from my teenage years, places where I have worked and the little quirks of some of my colleagues. I think about the laughs I’ve shared with my husband, precious moments with my children, and the pets I have had over the years.

It usually happens when I am out walking. My mind wanders from one memory to another, and before I know it, I am reliving moments that happened years ago. Sometimes I remember something I haven’t thought about in ages, and it makes me smile all over again.

Recently, all this reminiscing made me think about something: I would love to write the story of my life.

Who knows? Perhaps someone might enjoy reading it one day. But even if nobody else ever reads it, I think I would enjoy putting all these memories down on paper.

There was just one problem. I couldn’t imagine sitting in front of a notebook or my computer and starting with, “I was born on…” before trying to tell my whole story from beginning to end.

Where would I start? And how would I remember everything in the right order?

Then I realised that my junk journals could come to the rescue once again!

One memory at a time

Instead of trying to write a traditional autobiography, I decided that I could simply write about whatever memory came to mind.

I find it much easier to write about something I have been reminiscing about than to try to remember my life in chronological order. And because I enjoy organising things, I thought that arranging my memories alphabetically would be a good solution.

For example, the other day I started thinking about the pets I had as a child. So I simply took a page, gave it the title “Pets”, and wrote down my memories. And the beauty of it is that I can come back to add another note about my pets when I think of another story.

That was it. No need to decide what should come before or after it, and no need to worry about what I ought to write next.

The next time another memory comes to mind, I can write about that one, too.

I love the idea that, little by little, I can build a collection of stories about my life without having to follow a particular order.

Why the little things matter

When I think about the memories I want to record, I realise that it isn’t necessarily the big events that come to mind first. Very often, it is the little, everyday things that I remember most vividly.

I grew up in the countryside, and my best friend, who was also my neighbour, lived on a farm. I remember finding tree frogs during the grape harvest and playing in the hay. These might seem like insignificant things, but they are part of my childhood, and they bring back such lovely memories.

I remember the board games we played with my parents during the holidays because we didn’t have a television. I think about a primary school teacher we all loved and the time we made puppets in his class.

And, of course, not all memories are about childhood. There might be a story about a grumpy colleague, a wonderful boss or a truly horrible one. There is the memory of my daughter going for her first sleepover and my having to rescue her because she wanted to come home. She was only four!

I could write about the funny things my husband and I have done together, family holidays, old friends, the houses I have lived in, or the pets that have been part of my life.

All these little stories might not seem particularly important on their own, but together they paint a picture of who I am and the life I have lived.

And that is what I love about this idea.

You don’t have to write a grand story. You simply have to capture the moments that mean something to you.

How to organise your memory journal

For this particular project, I think loose pages work best. Each page can have its own title, and you can add new pages whenever another memory comes to mind.

I like the idea of organising the pages alphabetically. If I have already written about my childhood pets, for example, I can simply add another page about them whenever I remember something else.

You could have pages about Childhood, Friends, Holidays, Homes, School, Work, Family, Pets and many other subjects. You don’t have to decide on all your topics in advance. Let them develop naturally as you go along.

Of course, alphabetical order isn’t essential. If you prefer using a notebook, you can write a new memory on the next available page, giving each entry its own title. You could then add a table of contents at the beginning or end of the notebook, making it easier to find a particular story later.

Another possibility is to keep your pages in roughly chronological order, if that feels more natural to you. There is no right or wrong way to do this.

The important thing is to find a system that makes you want to keep writing.

If you like the idea of using loose sheets, I have written a blog post explaining how to make a simple cover for your loose junk journal pages. It is a practical way to keep your pages together while still allowing you to add and rearrange them whenever you want.

What should you write about?

Honestly, whatever you like!

You might start with a memory that 50akes you laugh, a place you haven’t visited for years, a person who made a difference in your life, or something you used to do as a child.

If you are struggling to think of a starting point, here are a few questions that might help.

• What games did you play when you were a child?
• Who was your best friend at school?
• Was there a teacher you particularly liked or disliked?
• What was your first job like?
• Can you remember a funny or embarrassing moment?
• What were your family holidays like?
• Which pets have been part of your life?
• What was the first home you lived in on your own?
• Is there a particular smell, sound or taste that reminds you of the past?
• What small family tradition do you remember fondly?
• Have you ever had an unexpected adventure?
• Who has made you laugh the most?

You don’t need to answer all these questions, of course. They are simply little prompts to help you get started.

And don’t worry if one memory leads you to another. In fact, I think that is one of the loveliest things about this project.

You begin by remembering a pet you had as a child, and suddenly you are thinking about the garden where it used to play, the house you lived in, the neighbours you knew, and the games you played with your friends.

Sometimes we remember only a tiny detail: the colour of a room, a phrase someone always used, or the smell of a particular meal. That’s enough to start a page. You don’t have to remember an entire event or every detail perfectly.

One memory leads to another, and another, and before you know it, you have a whole collection of stories to tell.

Make it a junk journal!

Of course, because this is a junk journal project, you don’t have to limit yourself to writing.

You could decorate your pages with photographs, old postcards, tickets, copies of letters, little drawings or scraps of patterned paper. You might add a picture of a place you remember, or use a vintage-style printable to give your page a particular atmosphere.

If you don’t have any photographs, that doesn’t matter at all. Your words are what count.

You could even create a page using colours, patterns or images that remind you of a particular time in your life. A simple handwritten story can be just as meaningful as a beautifully decorated page.

And there is no need to decorate everything straight away. You can write your memories first and come back to embellish the pages whenever you feel like it.

A little gift to help you get started

If you would like to give this idea a try, I have a little gift for you!

When you subscribe to my newsletter, you can receive a free set of letters to organise your junk journal alphabetically.

You can find the subscription form below.

I hope this idea inspires you to start collecting your own memories. You don’t need to remember everything, and you certainly don’t need to write your whole life story in one go.

Just start with one little moment.

What about you?

Do you ever find yourself reminiscing about the past? Are there little stories from your childhood, your family life or your working days that you would love to write down?

I’d love to hear what you think about this idea. If you already keep a memory journal, or if this post inspires you to start one, please tell me about it in the comments.

And, as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I always answer!

Happy creating!