In my life, I have read quite a few autobiographies... Have you ever thought about what your autobiography might sound like? What might the chapters in your book look like? Many people who write these stories retelling their lives are doing so with a purpose: to inspire, to motivate, to teach, to empower...
In one of my college education classes, we did weekly journals where we analyzed the text we read that week and then our professor asked an introspective question and had us respond in a variety of creative ways. For one of our journals, we were asked to either draw out the path we had followed in our lives, draw "the river named you", or create a list of chapters that could provide the reader with some ideas about your life and your experiences. I've decided to share my list of chapters with you.
This assignment was really freeing for me. As someone who is relatively private, I have a hard time talking about myself or my problems or my experiences. By writing out chapter titles, I knew what my experience was that inspired the title of the chapter and it was cathartic without being intimidating. You know that the reader can make assumptions about what might have happened or about your story but in reality, unless you tell someone, you are the only one who needs to know the meaning behind the words.
For those of you who might struggle to talk about your feelings and experiences and ALSO struggle to write them out, this is a good starting point. By writing out your chapter list, you might also inspire yourself to eventually write more in depth about your experiences and writing is my favorite kind of therapy.
The Chapter Exercise
Chapter 1: The Chosen One
Chapter 2: Music Makes the World Go ‘Round
Chapter 3: The Stray Cat
Chapter 4: The Sunshine Generation
Chapter 5: The One Where Her Best Friend Moves Away
Chapter 6: Never Let A Bully See You Cry
Chapter 7: Conversion
Chapter 8: Jew-“ish”
Chapter 9: “Women Don’t Sing”
Chapter 10: Fitting In
Chapter 11: Finding My Way
Chapter 12: Little Girl, Big Voice
Chapter 13: Music Is A Universal Language
Chapter 14: New Beginnings
Chapter 15: You’re A B*tch
Chapter 16: One Night Can Change Your Life Forever
Chapter 17: Friday Night Lights
Chapter 18: He Only Wants One Thing
Chapter 19: Sugar Mama
Chapter 20: She’s Not An Object
Chapter 21: Scarred
Chapter 22: Tell Me I’m Beautiful
Chapter 23: Before He Cheats
Chapter 24: Don’t Hurt Yourself
Chapter 25: One of the ACEs
Chapter 26: Try Love Again
Chapter 27: Know You’re Worth
Chapter 28: Love Always Finds A Way
Chapter 29: Hello, Old Friend
Chapter 30: Don’t Ever Forget You Are Limitless
To be continued...
I challenge anyone who reads this to take some time out of their busy schedule to do this exercise. You learn a lot about yourself and you are able to see the impact of all of life's experiences, good and bad.
