Memory-Keeping Mythbusting: Myth #1

Did you know there are MYTHS about memory-keeping?  It's true!  There are things people believe about preserving photos and memories that are just plain false.  This month during #familyhistoryfriday, we'll look at four memory-keeping myths and BUST them wide open!

The myth we're going to focus on today is one I hear quite a bit:  "I'm not creative, so I'm not into memory-keeping."

First and foremost, YOU ARE CREATIVE.  If you don't believe me, these posts are a must-read:

• {The Importance of Creativity to Personal Growth}
• {The Reason You're More Creative Than You Think}
• {Stop Saying You're Not Creative} guest post by Dina Tibbs
• {Rejuvenated by Creativity: Why We Thrive with Creative Expression} by Lisa Natcharian

Now that we've gotten that out of the way and you realize that you actually ARE creative, let's talk about creativity in terms of memory-keeping, or preserving pictures and memories.

This may surprise you, but memory-keeping really only requires memories.  If you're preserving photos and memories, you only need two things:  photos and memories.

The first photograph was taken in 1827.  It took until about 1839 to perfect the photography process and make cameras commercially available.  Believe it or not, when cameras were first sold, they were not sold only to creative people.  They were sold to people who wanted to make a physical record of something through a picture.  People didn't have to show a valid Creative License to buy a camera.

Nothing has changed!  Taking photos of things you want to remember doesn't require creativity.  Neither does making those photos into something tangible so you can appreciate and remember them.

Memory-keeping doesn't have to be as hard as we sometimes make it.  

1. Take the picture.  
2. {Preserve it in print} so that you can see and enjoy it.  
3. Record the details and memories associated with that photo.  

That's it.  Creativity is NOT a requirement for memory-keeping!

This myth is BUSTED.  Nowhere is it written that you must be crafty or creative to have or preserve photos and memories.  If you have photos and memories, you qualify as a memory-keeper.  

I will go so far as to say it's both your right and your responsibility as owner of the memories and of the photos to preserve them.  Creativity is not a requirement.

And there's more. 

Creativity might just surprise you.  By definition, a person who creates something is creative.  So if you take pictures, you have created something.  Have you ever thought of that?

Unfortunately, these days, photos often remain a digital creation.  Going a step further to make your digital creation into something tangible is important because the digital version doesn't have any details or memories.  And people don't usually sit down and pull out a digital file to look at.  Having something physical on a shelf or coffee table gets much more attention and makes REAL the {benefits of memory-keeping that I mentioned last month}.

The "I'm not a memory-keeper because I'm not creative" myth has come about because of trends and varied ways to preserve photos and memories.  A style like this shown below seems to be accepted as the norm.  People tend to think this is how you have to do it.

But it isn't.  You can preserve memories and photos in a style like below.  It skips the step of printing your pictures.  But your style or preference or "creativity" level doesn't matter!

I've delved more into the {specifics of creativity, particularly as it relates to memory-keeping, in this post}, so if you need some additional proof that this myth is BUSTED, you can find a little more insight there.

Whatever you do, don't let the idea that you have to be "creative" in order to preserve your photos and memories keep you from doing it.  It's far too critical for that.

We'll bust some more memory-keeping myths over the next few weeks on #familyhistoryfriday to help you get to the important business of telling family stories and making connections.  Just remember:  "I'm not creative so I can't preserve my photos" isn't true!  It's a myth that's BUSTED.

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This post was first published on April 7, 2017, at www.livegrowgive.org by Jennifer Wise.

More #familyhistoryfriday posts can be found by clicking the hashtag next to Labels below.