"I felt like a Tinkertoy kid building my own self out of one of those toy building sets; for as she laid her life before me, I reassembled the tableau of her words like a picture puzzle, and as I did, so my own life was rebuilt.".
Reviewing your life is not simply about assembling the details of your past. It's about finding meaning there. It can help you see clearly what the themes of your life have been and what principles have guided you. As you tell your story you may feel as if you are putting together all the pieces of a puzzle and seeing the big picture in a way you never did before. You may end up reminding yourself of some of the positive things you have lost track of like your own strengths and skills as a person. You might find that your imperfections don't seem quite so bad anymore. Reviewing your life can also help you gain a new perspective on your past and present relationships and to see where you have unfinished business. .
I was about 8 years old when I first discovered that the man I called my father wasn't really my biological father. At that time I was very confused. I didn't so much understand what exactly that meant for me. I was just told that it wasn't something that I had the liberty to discuss with others. I had to keep it a secret. I didn't question why really, I just did what I was told. .
As I got older it began to haunt me a little. My best friend and I were very close and I thought it would be ok to tell her my story. There would be several nights that we would stay up talking about this unknown character not in my life. We would make up stories about what he would be like, where he was, things that a 13 year old would find amusing. It wasn't until I was a junior in high school that I approached my mom for the first time since she had told me this secret, to possibly reveal more to me about this character. .
I was assigned a project in class that required us to research our medical history of our immediate family.