Well, I have always had a love for writing for as long as I can remember. It was therapeutic for me as I turned thirteen and faced life without a father. My father passed away three weeks before my thirteenth birthday; and writing stuff down was my way to cope. Whether it was a diary entry, a poem, a song, or just a bunch of words scribbled on a piece of paper … it was what I personally needed to do at that time to deal with my emotions.
Back in those days therapy and support groups weren't a big thing as they are now. It was almost taboo back in those times if you were getting "help" you were looked upon like you were a fragile human being and had serious mental issues which back in those days; people were put into institutions. There is no real handbook in life to deal with grief or the loss of a parent, especially when you are a child; nor as an adult. I think with what little help I had I did pretty well. There were issues along the way, things I could have done different; but in the end all my trials and tribulations made me into the person I am today.
Last therapy session I was given an "assignment" write my legacy. We spoke of a dear friend and how beautiful her obituary was when she passed last year; I always wondered what others would have written about me. So, instead of going the morbid route and writing an obituary-like writing we opted for a legacy writing. Something that I would want people to know about me and my life and what made me who I am today.
I think about my bi-line for my website "life is not a fairytale" and mine surely hasn't been. I started writing it in sections since I did some research on how other people put those together. I didn't just want a boring chronological look at my life, I wanted it to have substance and meaning.
I feel I have contributed a lot to life in so many ways, others may not see that; but then again they ought to be the first ones to read my legacy writing because they might learn something about me that they never knew. Most people think they know you because of who you once were growing up or by what you share on social media. Let me be honest, if I shared what I really thought and felt on social media I would shock a lot of people. To the point where some may realize they really do not know me at all. We all make perceptions about people by what they show us of themselves and what we see with our own eyes, is that the whole picture of who they are; probably not.
So I think at some point it is important for everyone to write their legacy down to leave that information for many generations to come about who they were. Stories get lost along the way … people don't write down the stories of their family or ancestors any more. This I would hope might be a last comfort for those to read our personal words after we are gone as a last conversation or last laugh depending on how it is written. I've had to learn to laugh a lot at my life over the years because laughing hid the pain, but some things shouldn't be hidden, shouldn't be shamed, but always be shared.
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