I am my own Historian

By:Amelia H.

I love to scrapbook. Why I love to scrapbook is not easily put into words. Sure, I enjoy the creative aspect of arranging an attractive book and having a pretty album to look at and to share with family and friends. I enjoy trying out all the new supplies and experimenting with different techniques. I love collecting papers, punches and stickers. But I think the main reason that I love to scrapbook comes from my childhood. Or more to the point, the fact that I have so little memorabilia remaining from my childhood. My toys were all either given away, thrown away or lost; no one saved any of my clothing or shoes; and I don't even have a baby book to speak of (2 pages are of it are completed and it contains a whopping total of four photographs!). I asked my Mom why there weren't at least photographs of me as a child. She explained that she didn't own a camera when I was a baby, so she had to borrow one for a day to take a few snapshots.

The film and processing were so expensive, that she wasn't able to shoot more than a roll of film at a time. And I had a brother and sister that had to be photographed, too. So, there are very few pictures of me as a baby. When I got a bit older, Mom finally could afford to buy a camera. But, the expense of the film and processing limited her to using the camera only on special occasions. So, most of the photographs I have of my family were all taken on summer vacations and at Christmas. I don't have many of the photographs and images that most people take for granted. There are no photographs of me as an infant. I have no photographs of my birthday parties, none of my childhood friends. I have no photographs of me with my grandparents. I can't remember who my childhood friends were, what my favorite toys were, or even what my room looked like.

This is the bread and butter of scrapbooking. The memories. I don't have any of these things from my childhood, so I make sure that I have them now. I take my camera along with me even if its not a special occasion. I have become more observant of the people and things around me and I try to remember the interesting little tidbits of life for journalling on my scrapbook pages. I save little items like ticket stubs and receipts that I can use to add meaning to my scrapbook pages. I have become my own historian.

It always upset me that I had an incomplete baby book and an incomplete history of my childhood. The only things I have that were written about me were the comments on my report cards. But, because I scrapbook, I will have my memories - clear memories in photographs, memorabilia and writing - to remind me who I was, who I am and how I have changed and grown. I am so lucky to be a scrapbooker!

Tomorrow at dMarie Daily: His Memory Lives On, by Saundra L.