End of Life: Should I Record Myself?
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End of Life: Should I Record Myself?
No one knows which day will be their last, which is why we must all embrace every day as if it would be our last one. Imagine that you passed away in your sleep tonight. What memories would you leave behind for your family? Some photos? A background presence in family films? One of the most common regrets that family members shared after a loved one has passed on is that they don’t have enough family movies of them or they never learned all about their personal family history which is now gone forever.
If you are elderly or you simply want to prepare for the possibility of passing away unexpectedly, you can help preserve your legacy and memories for your family by recording unique family films that showcase your life, the family history you know about, and generally go a step beyond simply showing up now and then in regular family movies.
What Can You Record?
If you are considering making special family films about your family history, life or other information you want to pass on with your family, then you have many options regarding what you can record. Many people choose to record videos sharing as much information about their personal history as possible—including where they grew up, their father and mother’s names, any siblings names, what they did for a living, any places they moved, jobs they had, and so on. Anything that can be used to piece together your family history after your passing is information that your family will truly cherish.
If you have information about family members who are no longer alive, you can preserve their memory in family moves in a very unique way: record yourself holding up a photo of that person, and share as much information as you know about them. This can include name, when they were born, their parent’s names, relation to the family, where they lived, what they did, or anything else you can think of about them. This information will be extremely important when you pass on, as it will be the only record that your family has about certain people who are no longer with us.
More Than Just Memories
One of the great things about creating family movies before the end of your life is that they aren’t just memories that your family will cherish. They are a record of you, a record of your face and voice and smile and body language; something that you’re children or siblings or other loving relatives will be able to look back on and cherish for the rest of their lives. They are videos that they will be able to share with your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, and anyone else who was too young to remember you or who wasn’t yet born when you passed on.
If you are ready to showcase your family history and preserve your memory through family movies, plan on creating unique family films highlighting your history, life and thoughts today.
To learn how to film your parents/grandparents with a smartphone click here.
Check out our 10 questions to ask your parents before it's too late!
To learn which is the best software for doing a family tree click here.
To learn how to trace holocaust survivors and victims in your family history click here.
To learn whether we should record the lives of our pets click here.