This is an open letter to Emery County Senior Citizens; and to those who are so active that no one would guess they are seniors; there are many who do not want to be placed in that category…yet. I look forward to reading about my friends and neighbors in the paper in the Senior of the Week section, and great human interest stories, as well as the profiles of the Students of the Week. But alas, there have been none lately except the student section.
I’ve decided that I know THE most interesting people. It’s you! And it’s time to toot your own horn!
Every person has such an interesting life; we just don’t think we do. We have our daily routines like everyone else, but…quess what?…our routine is Not like everyone else’s…not exactly…we are each unique. If your routine is like mine, three in the morning when you can’t sleep is a great time to start your story. You can even do an oral history with your little tape recorder and not wake another soul.
People are generally reluctant to talk about themselves. We are worried what others will think of us if we write up our stories – reveal a little of ourselves or our journals to anyone else. Wouldn’t want anyone to think we were bragging or patting ourselves on the back.
Talking about ourselves for most people is one of the hardest things. We’ve been taught to respect and listen to our elders, to bring out the best in other people and to serve others. That is probably why interviewing for a job is so stressful to people. Not only do we show vulnerability by just needing a job, but we have to actually “sell ourselves”…we have to talk about ourselves, lay our best points out for others to see and inspect and…maybe reject. That is very traumatic.
But hey! We are now the elders! We’ve been there and done that! It was fun. It wasn’t always easy. It was different than today and, by golly, people deserve to know how we feel, what we like, and what we care about.
We are the voters. We are the volunteers. We still have a voice. We are the people who grew up shaping our world just as the young folks are doing today. They are just too young to know it yet. We still care about people and our neighbors. We have talents and interests that may have been underlying all those working years just waiting to surface and now we’ve become productive artists in our own pursuits. We’ve found what we like and we are doing it!
Think about this. Who better to tell your story than you? Have you written down things that you think your grandchildren (or family, or friends or neighbors) may want to know about you someday? Well, they will! They do! You are one of the most important people in their lives! Your story is about Emery County; how it has effected you and how you have effected it. You have and are making an impact, an impression, a difference in this world, this area, your community. You are making and are part of history. So why wait until “you are history” to have others enjoy it?
You are important. You are interesting. You do have a great story to tell. Just do it! Remember, today is the first day of the rest of your life. Enjoy it, and let others enjoy it, too!