As mentioned in my most recent post we have recently learning about the concept of history, so for this post we have been tasked with a “snap shot autobiography”. Pretty much we were supposed to think of three of the most significant events in our lives, along with our births. Then we were supposed to tell the story of these events, along making a visual of them.

So for my four significant events I chose:

1. My Birth
2. Moving from Texas to British Columbia
3. My 3rd heart surgery
4. Getting my first job

This assignment originally made me think of all the Draw My Life videos I have seen on YouTube over the years so I decided to try a similar format for this assignment. I knew most people in the class were making photo essays, or similar visuals based on pictures which I considered doing as well, but then I realized I didn’t have too many pictures that related to my chosen stories so I decided to try this format out.

https://youtu.be/jc6QhfreWNY

So now, let’s go over the historical significance of these in my life. I never really think of my life as history, but when I got assigned this I realized that while maybe nothing in my life is historically significant in the big picture, there are lots of little things in my life which hold huge significance.

1. My birth

So I chose this event, obviously because it was mandatory, but also, while for a minute I thought I knew nothing about my birth, then I remembered the story about the doctor my mom thought looked like a movie star. This event in obviously quite significant to me because, well it was the day my life started. But it was also significant to my parents. Maybe not as significant as when my older sister was born because they already had a kid, but any new kid is a big thing for parents so that’s pretty cool! The evidence of this event lies mainly in memories, but also in a birth certificate (which, fun fact, is signed by George W. Bush). For continuity and Change, this event mainly changed my parents lives in the sense that now they had a 2 year old and an infant to care for. My birth has had many consequences, which consist of pretty much everything I have ever done. All in all, while on the big scale of thing my birth isn’t significant, it was to me, and those around me.

2. Moving from Texas

Moving from Texas holds significance to me because I can’t imagine what my life should have been like if I hadn’t. I can imagine who I’d now be if I had grown up in Texas, and I find it really weird to think about. Moving to Texas really changed up my family’s life. The temperature is much colder in Vancouver than Austin, but even more so, our lives got upended. We had a daily routine, a house we had been living in for a while and friends, when suddenly we had to move. It was a welcome change due to the fact my parents are both Canadian, but moving is always hard when you move without a place to move into other than a temporary apartment. I don’t really remember this event, but I am honestly so thankful it happened, although I love Texas and still feel connected to it.

3. Heart Surgery

While I don’t fully remember this, I still consider this one of the most significant events in my life because of the impact it had on my health. I was not a healthy child before my surgery, so I consider this to be important because of how it changed that. Without this surgery I wouldn’t be able to be the active person I am today, and my life would be much different.

I interviewed my mom about her memory of me being in the hospital, and of course it was a bit different than mine. For her it was kind of stressful and hard, while for me I just remember the fun aspects on it. We do remember the same things though, maybe because she has told me stories which have impacted the story I tell.

4. First Job

Getting my job was more significant to me than it was to anyone else. It made me feel much more independent, and has helped me with the way I present myself. It changed my life by making me much busier but has been a good thing because of how much better I have become at talking to people because of my experiences with the people I deal with at work.

I found this assignment actually quite interesting. I have never looked at events in my life as history, and it was fun trying to apply the six lenses mentioned in my last post to these events. I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about me and seeing what I consider significant in my life and why.