Recording Your Legacy

As we grow older, we think about many things. How will we be remembered by our loved ones? What stories will be told about us? How can we make sure that ourselves, our experiences, and our wisdom are remembered? We all want to be remembered fondly, but it only takes a few generations to forget what a person was truly like in life. Whether you’re a teenager, a senior, or are somewhere in between, it’s never too late to start your legacy. The path to a lasting legacy is through preserving our stories.

My parents chose to preserve their legacy through a camcorder. My brother’s and my first time seeing snow, my parents’ wedding, and our first family vacation in Las Vegas are all on video. These moments are important to document. Years down the line, our kids and grandkids will be able to experience what their grandparents and great grandparents’ humor was like, what their voices and laughs sounded like, and how bright their smiles were.

Videoing

One way to document your life is through video. Videoing will give your family the best idea of the person you were. They can get to know all about you—maybe how you danced and moved, or what your style was like if you’re into fashion. You can record all types of videos: milestones such as birthday and holiday parties, the birth of your first child or grandchild, buying your first house or car, or anything else that is memorable to you.

You can also record yourself telling some of your favorite stories, such as how you met your wife/husband or an embarrassing moment that you look back on and laugh about now. You can also record with friends or family to make the video even more memorable.

You can keep the videos stored in your phone or camcorder, or you can upload them onto a USB drive or into the cloud (digital storage). You can organize them in different ways such as chronologically, or by event (birthday videos in one folder, Christmas videos in another, Thanksgiving in another, etc.). 

Journaling        

The second way that you can make a lasting legacy is through journaling. All you need for this is a pen and a notebook. Journaling offers a more private way to document your life, for people who may be camera shy or would just rather write about their day. You can choose to keep this journal private, or share it with the people you love when you’re ready.

The amount of stories you can write about is endless. You can write in your journal daily and talk about whatever happened that day—who you saw and spent time with, what that interaction was like, the fun activities you did, what you ate. You can write about what you like and dislike. Maybe you want your great-great grandchildren to know what music you liked, so write a list of your favorite albums. 

If writing in your journal every day feels like too much, you can choose to journal only about special or memorable events. Maybe you’d like to write about meeting your grandchild for the first time. Maybe you met someone new who you feel could be a good friend or partner. Maybe you went to a friend’s birthday party. Or maybe you had a really good talk with your cousin one time. It doesn’t have to be something major, as long as it was important to you.

When people read your journal, they can learn all about you and the type of person you were. Were you a pineapple-on-pizza type of person? Who was your favorite basketball player? What type of music did you listen to? What was important to you? When the future generations read your journal, they can say, “Great Grandpa would’ve loved this song” or “they would’ve loved watching this show.” 

There are a variety of notebooks to choose from. Wirecutter, the product review website of the New York Times, recommended the Paperage Hardcover Lined Journal Notebook and the Leuchtturm1917 Hardcover Notebook Classic (A5) among others. Read the full list here: The 11 Best Notebooks and Notepads for 2025 | Reviews by Wirecutter

Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is a way to combine journaling and a photo album. In scrapbooking, you combine your favorite photos with descriptions of events, advice, or thoughts beside the photos. It involves printing, cutting, and pasting pictures, using stickers and a little creativity! You can cut out maps of places you’ve been to and add those, add pictures of food you’ve eaten in a foreign country, postcards, etc.

Scrapbooking is for people who enjoy arts and crafts, while also recording their memories. It takes a creative mind and patience. If the process is too much and you want to keep it simple, you can always just cut and paste pictures into your book and write next to them without all the other materials. It’s your book, do what you want!

Here’s a video by Mei-Ying Chow on YouTube for inspiration and links to materials to use: https://youtu.be/HfqfEM_h0pQ?si=H7BLCkUzGYbsE2-6

Document whatever you want

Remember, this is your legacy. Share only what you want your future children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren to know about you. You can share your favorite stories, moments in time, advice, or favorite things if that’s what calls you. Start recording your life and be remembered as the grandpa who broke his arm in elementary school doing something crazy, or the grandma who loved to hum while she cooked. 

Back when I was younger, I would always complain when we had to take photos at events. I was too busy having fun. But now that I’ve grown up a little, I appreciate these photos and videos much more. They remind me of the good times when my biggest worries were what I was going to wear the next day at school. They give me a piece of family when I’m away from them.

Other Resources

• Crafting groups around Seattle: 8 free (or low-cost) crafting groups and gatherings around Seattle | The Seattle Times
• Coffee and Crafting Club: How To Join The Seattle Coffee And Crafting Club
• Storytelling events to learn from other storytellers: Seattle Storytellers Guild
• Free learning resources on technology: Digital Skills Library
• Record your story and add to a huge public online archive: StoryCorps – Stories from people of all backgrounds and beliefs
• How to take good pictures: https://youtu.be/AJlp_obQgq8

Contributor Niko Manjares served as an intern with Age Friendly Seattle this past year. He is studying business and marketing at the University of Washington. Niko hails from Federal Way, WA, and looks forward to traveling with family this year before he starts his final term at college.