Scrapping the Scrapbooker

If you spend most of your time behind your camera, chances are good you're not spending enough in front of it! Many scrapbookers thoroughly document the lives of their children, spouses, and even pets, but not themselves.

One way to ensure your legacy is documented is to create a scrapbook that commemorates your own life. Think about a cherished relative that is no longer living. How wonderful would it be to have a book about his or her life? Now is a good time to make a resolution to scrapbook more of yourself this year, and give this treasured gift to your family.

There are many options for documenting your life. You can use a timeline method, documenting chronologically. You can highlight events that are important milestones like graduation and the birth of children. Or, you can use the opportunity to share your experiences, beliefs, hopes and dreams. Here are some ideas of things you might want to include in your scrapbook:

• Information about your childhood. Include vital statistics like your date of birth, parents' full names, siblings, etc. This will be very valuable to any future genealogists in your family!
• How your young life unfolded. Include what schools you attended and where you lived.
• Describe personal interests like hobbies, favorite holidays, special family or friends.
• Early adult life - your significant other, career, children.
• Significant milestones such as graduations and weddings.
• You know all those stories that are told at family gatherings and result in raucous laughter? Those make wonderful items to include! Ask your friends and family to write down stories about you in their own handwriting.
• Consider adding some deeper personal feelings, commenting on your perspective on life's most important issues, and those things you are thankful for.

Your scrapbook can be whatever you want it to be, so let your creative juices flow in creating a keepsake that reflects your individual scrapbooking style. Don't hesitate to add things that don't seem positive. Significant illnesses, losses of cherished family members and unexpected events are part of who you are and deserve a place in your book. You can reflect on how these events changed your life and helped form the person you are today.

There are lots of wonderful resources to guide you in creating a scrapbook about you. Angie Pedersen has authored a book called "The Book  of Me: A Guide to Scrapbooking About Yourself." This book is packed with ideas to help you decide what to include. It contains journaling prompts that will give you plenty of food for thought, and it also has lots of meaningful quotes to incorporate into your page layouts.

Creating your Book of Me provides a wonderful keepsake for your loved ones. But you will also have an enjoyable time documenting your own life, recalling memories of special times and places that will bring a smile to your face. You may even find it therapeutic as you contemplate the course your life ultimately took compared to your youthful expectations, and how those twists and turns impacted your life in unexpected and wonderful ways.

Scrap the "bad" stuff too; it's part of who you are today!