In this contemporary world, we have all kinds of special ways to record our lives: Technology, photography, painting, and more. Life records vary in different ways, they’re the unique memories we had a chance to keep. Archiving life is influenced by different individual’s special insights, personalities, and more. We will explore the diversity of GHS students applying their strategies to their life recordings.

The latest technology maximizes the convenience of life documentation through photography, yet the colorful and cherished pieces will remain etched in our hearts and make them precious throughout our life history. This enduring method has always been the most romantic and profound way. As Andy Nguyen, a senior at GHS concluded: “I record my life by living and remembering the moments I lived.” Law Meh, a senior at GHS also answered, with a combination of the modern method and the inside memorization method, “ I record my life from pictures, memories, and words. I put them on my walls, on my phone, and in my mind.”

Flashing through the click to capture the best moments, technology provides us easy access to photos. Alice Ruat, a junior at GHS claimed: “I prefer to record my life through my phone because it’s convenient since our phones are something that we always have with us, I feel like keeping memories in a camera is more reliable.” While Amanah Altabbaa, a new senior at GHS emphasized the following: “To record the most extraordinary view, little moments, and those bits of joy is pretty important.”

Undeniably, the physical reliability created by technology and handwriting is also precious. The inside memorization can underscore the happiness deeply living in your life to see preserved moments inside. Meh defined her words for her way of recording life, “ Because they allow me to capture the moments from different perspectives, and all by me. Pictures are about freezing moments that evoke emotions, memories are stored in my head, and words are in the form of a diary. They all gave me a sense of myself and the world.” There are countless ways for us to record or document our lives, the creativity behind the creation is the most colorful part.

With advanced technology, we’re able to record our lives daily. Ruat responded, “ I record my life almost daily, I think that’s the point where almost everyone is at.” Varied by different life habits and insights, Nguyen made things deeper as he wanted to record his life through memorization. “I record my life every second I am living,” he reflected. Altabbaa has her own habit of recording. “I post my life once in a while,” she stated, “but if I have something I want to post immediately it would really depend on the date and event.” The easy access through technology allows us to record every second. We would love to record the things we feel interested in or love. The act of recording became an extension of our senses, a way of extending our reach to the world and the world that we had inside.

Most importantly, your motivation impacts the way you record your life. Meh had a motivation for natural beauty: “ They’re worth it. Every sunset can be beautiful, you want to catch that moment of the pink rays, or howthe sunlight gives you a nice glow.”The attractive landscape makes every scene worthwhile and we love those precious moments and never want to lose them in the flow of sand. Ruat responded, “Not wanting to forget and having something nice to look at are what motivate me to record my life.” Recording life is not just documenting beautiful moments, Nguyen thought: “I get motivated to record my life because I love the feeling of getting to know what I once lived and remembering how I was simply just enjoying life.” Every moment is documenting ourselves and this world, we can see individual growth, and how this world brought experience to us.Even though life can be short, we experience all kinds of journeys. It’s always hard to interpret the best moments as Meh said, “I’m uncertain about the best memories, there’s too much to pick from.” Although it is a hard decision to pick up from your life, there are some portions of lives inscribed in your head. Altabbaa recalled her memory with a smile, “One of my favorite memories is with my friends on National Day. We dressed up, they brought a camel and horses to school and did hand-painting. We were riding the horses and had lots of fun.” The joyfulness shined on her face, you could feel the happiness around her. On the other hand,  Ruat mentioned her memory way back to childhood: “The best memory archived in my mind is when I used to live in Malaysia and had no cares as a little kid.” Memories are like puzzle pieces, we can have broken pieces, favored pieces, and a lot more. But all in all, different pieces are what make us who we are today.

We look back to our life records differently, and sometimes a small hint of something can recall your memories as Ruat responded: “ I mainly go back to look at my life records when I’m feeling bored or when I accidentally scroll a little too long at my camera roll, or when I want to remember what I looked like during that time period.” Digital format provides us with a convenient way to look back, but mental memory always evokes our deeper moments. Nguyen stated: “I’ll look back on my life records anytime I feel like remembering what enjoying life was like and how I’ve changed.” 

Our heartwarming pieces can’t live without our surroundings, Altabbaa highlighted her components of establishing a memorable record: “ Family and close friends, the bonds you have with them makes the memory valuable.” In other people’s eyes, it doesn’t take too much to achieve a memorable record, to that Ruat said: “I believe that for most people it just has to be something they would like to remember and/or something they find aesthetically pleasing to their eyes.” A glance at an expression can conduct a pretty memory, and we all have our pieces.

Life recording is a part of remembering who you are, Nguyen included his optimistic mindset in the response: “It means having a piece of enjoyment and missing the day you really, and truly enjoyed what life brought.” It is the color to put inside as Law M put it: “I view it as a vibrant color tangled in my life, it’s capturing all the moments that I loved.” It is as simple as Altabbaa defined: “You would want to make sure you remember the things that you don’t want to forget.” It is who we are as Ruat quoted: “Recording my life to me means that I am recording something that represents who I am and what I stand for.”

Recording your life is a meaningful expression of yourself and an act of connecting with others. Every piece of precious memory is created by ourselves and is diverse for everyone. We look towards the life recordings we own to gain insight into people’s existence. We’re the architects of our own history, weaving together the moments into a magnificent tapestry of life.

Appreciate the time and responses of my lovely interviewees: Amanah Altabbaa, Alice Ruat, Andy Nguyen, and Law Meh.

“Memories are the scribe of the soul.” —Aristotle