The Legacy that Costs Nothing

I wrote recently, half joking that because of Walmart I had no legacy to leave my daughter. Nothing of value, no fantastic antique dishes. Just cheap affordable Walmart stuff. I can’t be the only one that has realized this, especially since nearly the entire world has become frugal (some never had a choice). What are we going to leave our heirs when we’re gone besides the Gladware?

Obviously most people are thinking they’ll leave behind some money. That in the end all of this frugality will not only save enough money for when we ourselves are old, but for our children and loved ones when we are gone. This is important. This is one of the reasons we work. But, I want to leave something more tangible. Something that not only reminds my daughter and family of me, but that reflects who I am/was.

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I have a very close friend that I went to highschool with that lives on practically the other side of the planet. We have seen each other once since school, but we communicate daily (thanks to my new texting disorder). She remembered writing her autobiography in English class. Noteworthy because it brought our favorite English teacher to tears. She wished she still had it for her daughter.

Aha! I’m brilliant, right? Well, thanks to her I’ve decided that an autobiography is probably the greatest legacy I could leave for my daughter. What better way to see where her crazy mother has been? Granted this will be no bestseller and I doubt I would even want many people to read it. I’m quite frankly proposing a movement that for now I have named “Regular People Writing Autobiographies.” (Working title.)

Some things I have considered are important to this concept.

1.  Everyone, I mean everyone claims they can’t remember anything. I’ve been around the world and in so many different places that I often confuse who, what and where occurred in which place. My plan is write sections as I remember them, and undoubtedly once you get started you will figure out you remember more than you think.

2.  There doesn’t have to be a completion date and thus no hurry. Hopefully your completion date doesn’t happen for a very long time, if you know what I mean. At this point there won’t be an ending because my life story is far from over. Unless I think of something so fantastic that it works and I just fill in chapters as I get older. Alternatively, you cannot be too young to write your autobiography. Write it to the point where you are at.

3.  This legacy is as close to free as it gets. If you have a word processing program, if  you have a pen and a notepad (which by the way are less than a dollar at the Dollar Store), you can participate for almost nothing. All it costs is a little time and thought.

4. Another point people bring up. “I’m no writer.” We’re not shopping publishing houses, we’re not trying to get into Barnes & Noble. Therefore, whether you’re a fantastic literary genius, or someone that barely made it through elementary English, it makes no difference. The point is to get it down and to preserve it for the people that actually want to read it. Maybe no one wants to. Save it for yourself. Our lives are made up of memories and if you think you don’t remember much about elementary school now, wait until you’re 80 and see how much you remember then.

5.  Truth is better than fiction. I love all things real and true, from movies to books and to me, reading about ordinary people and how the path they traveled to get where they are is more intriguing than which pop star is sleeping with which actor. People think their lives are boring, but trust me, the only reason you’re not a clone of your neighbor is because of your own life’s events. We all have a story to tell, even you.

As if I’m not busy enough, I’m taking my own challenge to get my autobiography down on paper. I hope others will take a chance and do so as well. And if you’d like to share, I’d love to read. Thanks to my highschool friend, I may be leaving my daughter a better legacy than I thought.