Life Lessons



When someone passes away, it is easy to think about all the things that person taught you. Especially a parent or a grandparent. But, all kinds of people influence us in our lives. It doesn’t have to be a parent that we pay tribute to, but anyone that is a great teacher, and influenced our lives in a way that will change us forever.

Adding a layout to your heritage album about one of these special people in your life will help to pass on the legacy of what it means to touch another person’s heart and mind in a way that can change them forever. You will want to document who this person was, what they taught you, and why they were so special.

The obvious choice is a parent. Our parents teach us, well, pretty much everything! They teach us the simple things in life like how to brush our teeth, tie our shoes, do laundry, and be responsible members of society. But, it is the life lessons that seem to affect us the most. When choosing to do a layout about what your parent has taught you, think about some of the life lessons that you would want to pass on to your own children. Try to include some of the “silly” things that maybe your Mom or Dad said to you growing up that you want to continue on in the family. It doesn’t always have to be something eloquent, or profound. It can just be something meaningful to you. The key to this type of layout is keeping it simple. Include a picture of you and your parent. You can even do a double layout about things your mother taught you and things your father taught you. For a fun twist on this idea, use embellishments that are meant for teachers. After all, aren’t our parents the ultimate teachers?

Like I said before, parents and grandparents aren’t the only ones that teach us things. You can do a layout like this for anyone in your life. Ask yourself these questions to get started:

Who has helped me shape my personality?

Who is the person I always went to for advice either as a child or an adult?

What is my “mantra” for life. Did I learn that from the example of someone?

What are some of my personal beliefs. Who taught me those?

Starting with some of these questions may spark some ideas of what direction you want to take the layout, and who you want to make it about. Obviously we are influenced by many people, so when you are scrapbooking your own life, consider making a layout for each person that greatly influenced you in your life.

Meredith Ethington is the author of this blog. To learn more about Meredith, and her history with Scrapbooking and Genealogy, go here.

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