Page 55 - Stories_of_Older_Adults

D O C U M E N T I N G L I F E S T O R I E S

T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F

S H A R I N G S T O R I E S

Before formal education, humans have been learning through each other's stories. Stories are how
people pass wisdom and knowledge across the generations.
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Documenting our stories helps explain who we are, where we have been, where we are, and why
we are here. This is what makes us, us.

When we tell, re-tell or listen to life stories, we
learn and reflect on who we really are. We
think about the things we have done, and get
fresh insights. Documenting the stories of
others isn't just a way to learn from the past,
but it builds a closer bond among people. The
students and their interviewees in our
projects were strangers, but the experience
can be even more meaningful when
documenting a loved one's stories. Whether
writing your own story or that of a parent or
grandparents, the written story will be the I l l u s t r a t i o n b y C a n v a P r o
legacy for the upcoming generations. While
history books are written for nations and
educational systems, personal histories
become artefacts in our shared "museum" of
what makes us human.

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