Make your story a memorable one

One of my favorite parts of the newspaper is the obituary section. It's also one of the most read. Obituaries are such a personal look into a life. I love reading obituaries and learning about people. I discover unknown facts about peopel I've known for years and learn interesting things about people I've never met.

I love a good story. That's one of the reasons I became a journalist, and I love telling the stories of others. In journalism school, we had an assisgnment to write our own obituary. In another class, we were tasked with interviewing someone in our grandparents' generation. I didn't have any family members nearby while I was at North Idaho College, so I interviewed my friend Kali's grandma Anne. I still have that article I wrote on her.

Writing obituaries is telling a unique aspect of a person's life. Sometimes people write their own obituary before they pass. It's interesting to read what they think is important for people to know about them.

Obituaries also are a key part of history. We often get inquiries here at The Ledger for copies of obituaries or asking when a certain person died. For me, that research usually leads to some other article in an edition long ago that sparks a memory or an idea for a new article.

Our actions today are helping write our life stories. How we treat people, the organizations in which we are involved and the choices we make might just end up in our obituaries one day. It leads us back to making good choices, being caring people and helping others.

I'll probably be one of those people who writes my own obituary, which should be no surprise. I hope the rest of my story includes more adventures and more stories of helping others. And hopefully, it isn't published for many, many years.

— Annie Wooden