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Your Life is Your Story, Issue #215 – School Days Then and Now
August 31, 2024
Greetings

"Your past is your story up to now. The future is the story yet to come. The present is where you live with that experience, your hopes and your dreams."



Your Life is Your Story Newsletter

Aygust 31, 2024
Issue #215 – School Days Then and Now

From Tom Gilbert – Editor and Writer, www.your-life-your-story.com

In this Issue:
Opening remarks: Work Stuff
Featured Article – School Days Then and Now
Featured Resource – BookSirens Reader Reviews

Opening Remarks: Work Stuff

I am what I consider “semi-retired.” It’s subjective I’ll admit.

For many years, since the age of probably 14, I had some kind of job. At first it was mowing lawns and a paper route. Then fast food gigs. After college I spent more than thirty years in radio broadcasting followed by a dozen years as a school teacher. Plus, doing the life story personal historian labor of (mostly) love, and sometimes getting paid!

This meant a lot of years when I worked at least 6 days a week. Now that I’ve passed senior citizen age I work 2-3 days a week for a local university hospital as a staffing coordinator and also do the life story work (which I find most gratifying).

So I do have days off during the week when I can enjoy the retired lifestyle. As we head into the Labor Day weekend it is not lost on me the importance of a good work ethic along with proper working conditions. Thanks to the Labor movement and those who helped make it possible. In the United States it is not perfect and we could still benefit from a more equitable system. But let’s celebrate the worker rights we do have.

Thank you so much for being part of the Your Life Is Your Story community. Thanks to all our subscribers. I hope you enjoy this month’s issue.

You are receiving this e-zine because you signed up for it or someone who is subscribed passed it along to you. If a friend DID forward this to you consider subscribing by visiting our signup page . Also, let me know what you’d like to see more of in this newsletter – simply reply to this email e-zine.

– Tom

Featured Article: School Days Then and Now

It’s That Time of Year Again

It’s that time of year again—back to school. For students and educators alike, the first day of the new school year is akin to a second “New Year’s Day.”

Much of how we do things has been highly influenced by our school experiences.

How we handle new learning, the way we interact with others, the challenges of social situations and the physical and emotional changes we go through all make for an interesting personal history.

School Reunion

I just experienced my 50 year high school reunion! What a trip down memory lane that was. It was great to see past classmates and to find out what we have all been up to the past half century.

When we are young and in school we don’t often think about how we will reflect back on our school experiences.

My perspective on this changed when I became a school teacher. It was later in life career change. I was 55 when I had my first classroom following a couple of years of substitute and student teaching. Now I was looking at school in a whole new way. Instead of my own education I was focused on helping students learn and grow.

Believe me, there was plenty of learning and growing for me too!

I taught for about a dozen years before retiring and focusing more of my efforts on helping others with their life story writing. It is something I am passionate about and I’ve been involved in this endeavor for over 20 years.

So, how I approached school and how I approach life story work have a lot in common.

There are preparation and organization tasks at the start.

There is a lot of getting to know those embarking on their memoir journeys.

There are conversations involving first and next steps, how to proceed, how to stick with it, and what to do to get a manuscript to the finish line.

In the end there is the satisfaction of completing a very important and often difficult journey that connects the past to the present…and beyond!
Read other articles at here.

Featured Resource: BookSirens Reader Reviews

Writers are readers–it’s a fact! If you like to read and like to get free copies of new releases then you might be interested in BookSirens. They look for readers who will read new releases and give honest reviews.

I am currently working with BookSirens to find readers who will read and review French Twist–A Tale of Travel, Testing and Triumph. It’s the incredible story of Janine Winters, a strong and brave woman who trusted me to tell her story. It is her life experiences and my writing.

If you are interested in reading a free copy and willing to write a short review then visit this link. Thank you in advance for your interest.

The book is currently available for sale on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble and other book sites. . For more information see French Twist: A Tale of Travel, Testing and Triumph.

Closing Information

That’s it for this month’s issue. Thanks for reading. Here’s to telling your story. Do give it some serious consideration because I just know you’ve got a great story to tell! Be sure to see the Get Started section.

Any comments, ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated. Just reply to this ‘zine and tell me what you think!

Until next time, – keep your story alive!

Tom Gilbert

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