Chapter 2: Your Second Decade
Write Your Life Story for Posterity - Ages 10 through 19
By Maureen Santini © Copyright 2017-2025. All Rights Reserved.
This is the second newsletter in the A Journey of 1,000 Miles… series.
Your second decade begins in childhood and ends in adulthood.
Ages 10 through 19 span middle school, high school, and post high school years. That means you have a lot to write about in this chapter of your life.
If you wrote about your first decade, way to go! Keep writing when new decade articles are published and you will have written your life story in record time!
If you did not write about your first decade, try to catch up this week. At this point, just write down the facts that you recall. You can always add to the chapter when you have time. Feel free to email me if you are having difficulty with the assignment.
For your second decade, begin writing as of your 10th birthday. If you were born in 1960, for instance, you were 10 years old in 1970.
Middle School
Start writing as of the fifth grade or whichever grade you were in at age 10, if you were in school. If you were not in school, write about how you spent your time during those years.
For each grade, write about relevant topics such as:
The name of the school, city and state, important teachers, coaches, classmates, events. The type of school – public, private, religious, home.
Your home address, city, and state. Names and relationships of all others in your household.
Your main school activities, class subjects, projects, and interests. Include highlights of each grade, such as things that were especially fun, rewarding, or challenging.
Your main activities outside of school such as playmates, home life, religion, games, sports, outdoor activities, television, movies, music, fashion, dreams, challenges.
If applicable, your awareness of current events in your town, state, nation, or internationally. Explain.
High School
Most of us were about 14 years old as freshmen and about 18 at graduation. For each of these ages, write about the main activities in your life whether you attended high school or not.
If you were in school, write the name of the school, city, and state, and the type of school.
Your home residence street address, city, and state. Names and relationships of others in your household.
Identify those who were most influential during this time such as teachers, classmates, coaches, family members, friends, and others.
Your major interests, such as hobbies, sports, music, class subjects. Describe yourself as a student and your attitude toward school.
If you were not a student, explain how you occupied your time.
Your main interests outside of school, such as friends, home life, religion, games, television, sports, movies, music, clothes. Describe interests and skills you developed during this time.
Your primary non-school concerns, such as work, your health and well being or that of family members, and your dating life and relationships.
Your awareness of current events in your town, state, and nation. Explain why specific events or causes piqued your interest or concern, if any did.
As of 1971, all of us became legal adults at age 18. Write what that turning point meant, regarding such things as driving, voting, drinking, and anything else.
Describe your feelings about milestones such as graduating from high school — or not graduating — and your plans for the future.
Post High School
After high school many went to college or vocational school, entered the job market, joined the military, traveled, or just hung out. Some of you may have married and had children.
Write about all of the following that applied to your life:
College
Vocational school
Military
Job / Career
Moving away from home for the first time
Dating, marriage, and children
Travel
For each category, write where and when you worked at a job, went to college, attended vocational school, or joined the military.
If any of the categories above were particularly meaningful in retrospect, try to describe what the experience meant at the time and to the progression of your life.
Write about your areas of study in college or vocational school and whether you graduated. For those who went into the military, list the dates, branch, and type of training, and the experiences you had.
Write about your first jobs or first travels. Describe your skills and abilities.
Describe gratitude or regret for opportunities you had or didn't have. Explain factors that, at the time, seemed to impel you in one direction or another.
Describe your private and family life in detail, such as whether you were in a relationship, married with or without children, living with friends, or living at home. Describe typical activities and typical days.
In addition to the categories above, write about challenges, events or stresses that had an impact on your life during this decade, including your health and welfare and that of your family and friends.
Now that you’ve jogged your memory, new insights may arise. Keep adding to each chapter as they do.
The Chapter 3 newsletter, covering your twenties, will be published on Saturday.
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Share and restack these newsletters to encourage others to write their own stories.