Parents, have you ever considered recording details of your family history, your personal experiences and life lessons on camera for your kids to watch as they grow into adulthood?
I have had the good fortune of being raised by two hard working and amazing parents of Jamaican heritage. I'm thankful to have been raised as a first generation Canadian born Jamaican. They always insisted that I develop a strong work ethic, learn as much as possible at school, and that I have respect for myself and those around me. They worked hard to create opportunities for me that they never had, and to prepare me for adulthood.
But I noticed as I grew older, that there were still details and aspects of life that they hadn't fully shared with me. This meant that I didn't always have a strong understanding of my cultural history and family tree. There were untold stories of their personal journey's throughout life that I hadn't heard. Unfortunately, memories tend to fade away. And there were foundational life skills that I hadn't acquired from them. I've often wondered how many others out there could relate.
What am I going to do differently?
Well, books or journals and photo albums as legacy pieces have always been a beautifully tangible way to leave something behind for future generations. Recently, I heard a mother tell that she's created email accounts that her kids will be given access to in the future. In the meantime, she sends notes to each child's account whenever she has observations and insights about life to share. I love her idea.
However now that I'm a parent, I had to put my spin on this age old idea. I decided that I'd like each of my daughters to have access to prerecorded video teachings and life lessons directly from me.
Here's why I think that it's worth the investment.
- I want to give my girls a chance to see and hear me speak from today's perspective, as a younger man. How amazing would it be to see videos of your father in his 20's speaking to you when you become a teen or as you enter into your 20's.
- Using video recordings will allow me to develop a small catalogue / library of information that addresses important topics like love, relationships, family, faith, business, finance, and more. It'll all be searchable using keywords.
- I can worry less about the potential loss of videos to unforeseen circumstances that happen in real life. This is presently the case because of services like YouTube and Vimeo that store footage for free.
*I have the chance to share with them stories and information that I think are important both now as well as relevant to them in the future.
Would you like to create a small video series for your children to keep?
Message me today if you think that you'd like to discuss potential project ideas.
I'd be happy to offer some suggestions and plan a family video legacy project with you.
