Week Five: Your High School Life

This week's journaling prompt is very similar to last week's, with a few additions and changes to fit the topic of high school life. As in all journals, you may wish to filter any information you place on the Internet.

*What was/were the name(s) of the high school(s) you attended, and where was it/were they located?

*What grade(s) did you attend at each school? During which years?

*Did you graduate from high school? Why or why not? In what year did you graduate?

*What were the names of your teachers? Who were your favorites and why? Who were your least favorites and why?

*Do you remember any other staff members (custodians, cooks, bus drivers, administrators, secretaries, etc.)?

*Were your classes focused in a certain direction (Vocational Training, College Prep/AP, etc.)?

*What were your favorite and worst subjects at school, and why?

*What electives did you take, and why?

*Did you take Driver's Ed at school? If so, tell about your early driving days. What kind of car did you have?

*What kind of grades did you make? What was your GPA and/or class ranking at graduation?

*Did you walk, ride (bike or auto), drive, or take a bus to school? What memories do you have of going to and from school?

*What field trips do you remember?

*What do you remember about certain projects or essays you had to do?

*Tell about some guests (musicians, performers, authors, etc.) that visited your school.

*What kinds of assemblies do you remember having?

*What sports, clubs, musical groups, and/or activities were you involved in? Did you ever run for class/ASB leadership positions? Tell about some of the memories you have of these activities. For instance, if you were in band, what parades or concerts did you perform in? If you participated in sports, do you have special memories of a certain game or did your team go to championships?

*What awards did you earn?

*Were you ever punished? Why?

*Who were some of your best school friends? Share some special memories about them.

*Did you have a boyfriend/girlfriend during high school? Tell about him/her, and some of the dates you had.

*Were you ever bullied, or did you ever bully anyone? How was that resolved, or was it ever?

*Did you go to dances, formal or informal? Share your memories of homecoming, Sadie Hawkins, prom, and any other dances you remember. Were you ever elected prom/homecoming king/queen?

*Did you earn any scholarships for college?

*Did you participate in any end-of-year senior parties or activities (grad night, etc.), school-sponsored or not?

*Tell about your baccalaureate and graduation ceremonies. Do you remember any of the motivational speech that was given at your graduation?

*Did you have a family graduation party and/or receive gifts?

*Did you have any idea of what you wanted to do after high school? How did those plans come into fruition (or not)?

*What is your general overall perspective on your high school years?

School and graduation photos would make a nice addition to your journal, as well as photos of activities and copies of awards and your diploma. Don't forget to write captions for your photos...just because YOU know who everyone is doesn't mean your descendants will!

Next week's prompt will be on the topic of college life, or life after high school, for those who may not have attended college. And the following week's prompt will be about your religious/church life.

Week Four: Your Elementary School Life

Preschool, Head-start, Kindergarten, grammar school, elementary school, middle school, junior high...whatever you call the education you had before high school, this is the topic at hand.

*What were the names of the schools you attended, and where were they located?

*What grade(s) did you attend at each school? During which years (you may wish to filter this information if you place it online)?

*What were the names of your teachers? Who were your favorites and why? Who were your least favorites and why?

*Do you remember any other staff members (custodians, cooks, bus drivers, administrators, secretaries, etc.)?

*What were your favorite and worst subjects at school, and why?

*What kind of grades did you make?

*Did you walk, ride (bike or auto), or take a bus to school? What memories do you have of going to and from school?

*What field trips do you remember?

*Tell about some guests (musicians, performers, authors, etc.) that visited your school.

*What sports, clubs, musical groups, and/or activities were you involved in?

*What awards did you earn?

*Were you ever punished (demerits, detention, principal's office, ruler, etc.)? Why?

*Who were some of your best school friends? Share some special memories about them.

*Were you ever bullied, or did you ever bully anyone? How was that resolved, or was it ever?

*Tell about any graduation ceremonies you participated in during this time. Did you have a graduation party and/or receive gifts?

School and class photos would make a nice addition to your journal. Don't forget to write captions...just because YOU know who everyone is doesn't mean your descendants will!

Next week, we will naturally talk about high school life. If you are following these journal prompts, by blog, computer, or by hand, please drop me a line at kidmiff@gmail.com.

Week Three: Your Immediate Family

This week's topic is the structure of the immediate family you were raised in. Later prompts will ask for more details on certain members of this family; this one is simply a general overview. Remember to respect the privacy of living people by editing any personal information that you place online.

*Who were the adults that lived in your household growing up? Were they your parents, step-parents, uncles and/or aunts, grandparents, or friends/significant others of your parents?

*Who were the children that lived in your household growing up? Were they your siblings, half- or step-siblings, cousins, or others?

*If you were a child of divorced or separated parents, how did you share your time between the two households?

*Are you an adopted child (either adopted by a couple or by a step-parent)? What are your thoughts and feelings about your adoption? What are your thoughts and feelings about your birth parent(s)? How did your adoption impact you? If you have siblings (biological or adoptive), how did your adoption impact your relationship with them? (This set of questions could be a separate blog.)

*Were you an only child? If so, do you prefer your only child status, or do you wish you had siblings? Why or why not? If you have siblings, where were you in the birth order? After reading this, do you feel like you are a typical person for your birth order? (A fun survey to take is the Birth Order Predictor...does it fit you?)

*Did you have to share a bedroom? How did that work out?

*Which adult did you feel closest to, and why? Did this relationship change as you became an adult?

*Which sibling/other child did you feel closest to, and why? Did this relationship change as you became an adult?

Find a group shot or two of your family and add them to your journal. Don't forget to label it!

Next week's prompt topics will be about your elementary school life. Happy Journaling!

Week Two: Your Birth

This week's topic is Your Birth. Please use common sense when posting personal information about yourself on the Internet. You may wish to have a complete posting in a written journal or in a document on your desktop, and only post a filtered version online. For instance, I will be writing more about my birthplace than the birth date itself (a fact that I wish to keep private, not for vanity's sake, but for security from identity theft). Here are your prompts:

*When were you born?

*What day of the week did your birthday fall on? (If you don't know, use this perpetual calendar.)

*Do you think that the old nursery rhyme about being born on a certain day of the week accurately reflects your personality? Why or why not?

*Were you born on a holiday? If so, which one?

*Which famous person do you share your birthday with? What is your opinion of these people?

*What saint day were you born on? If Catholic, do you pray to this saint? Do you feel he or she has helped you in any special way?

*Do you share a birthday with any of your ancestors or relatives? Or is your birthday the same date as an ancestor's or relative's date of marriage or death?

*What is your astrological sign? Do you think your sign fits you? What about your Chinese sign? Do you believe in astrology?

*What major events happened on the day you were born? What happened the year you were born?

*Where were you born?

*Were you born in a hospital, at home, or somewhere else?

*Why were you born where you were? Were your parents living in that town, or somewhere else?

*Who was in attendance at your birth?

*Is there an interesting story related to your birth?

*What do you know about the history of the place where you were born?

*Do you still live in the place where you were born? Why or why not?

See if you have a copy of the earliest photo taken of you, and add it to your journal.

Our topic next week will be Your Family. See you then!