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Rozanne Paxman
The Bestest Reasons to Become a Digital Scrapbooker
Have you ever considered why we enjoy digital scrapbooking so much? Is there value in creating digital scrapbook layouts?
Here are some of my thoughts:
- We create digital scrapbook layouts to keep records of our families.
- We create digital scrapbook layouts to communicate our values.
- We create digital scrapbook layouts to share hope and faith.
- We create digital scrapbook layouts to tie generations together.
- We create digital scrapbook layouts to express things in ourselves in ways that words alone can't express.
I believe that digital scrapbooking is a noble, worthwhile, and valuable activity. This is the main reason I am so enthusiastic about it. The benefits of digital scrapbooking won't diminish with the unsteady winds of society, finances, health issues, or political decisions. Keeping family records is one of the few things we can leave behind us that will last.
Candy lasts until we swallow it. Movies last until they are over. New couches last until they are worn out. Clothing lasts until it is worn out or discarded. Vacations last until we come home from them. But digital scrapbooks, if carefully preserved, can be passed down, inherited, and enjoyed for generations – and they can tell about our favorite candy, movies we enjoyed, the furniture we owned. As a matter of fact, when we create layouts, the historical records show the clothing we wore, and we tell the stories of favorite vacations. We can't keep those things, but we can keep the memories of them alive.
When we create digital scrapbooking layouts, we identify people, describe them, and express our feelings about them. Photographs alone are often stuck into books and the memories associated with the photographs are lost when the memory of the photographer or subjects is lost. For example, I have a beautiful book of my grandparents' photos. I have no idea who many of the people are in those photos and certainly have no idea why they were important to my grandparents. Family stories shared around the dinner table last until we forget they happened. People's names are forgotten. Details are changed with dimming minds.
The only hope we have of keeping our memories accurately is to keep records. We need to write down the stories. We need to make them available for our families to keep. Because the old adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true, stories remembered with the aid of photos are more powerful.
Think about it: Don't children's story books have images with them? Have you ever considered why?
It's because it is easier for us to learn something when pictures are included, particularly if we don't have a frame of reference to build on. Children are putting the building blocks of life together, and story books help that process along.
I have a brother who died in infancy – shortly before I was born. Because he died when he was just four hours old, photos of him are not available. I have had to work hard in my life to remember that my brother exists. If I had a photo of him, this process would be easier for me. If I had a photo with the written story of his short life, my ability to remember him would increase. If the photo and story was in a family book that I enjoyed looking at regularly, my brother would be firmly embedded in my mind.
Just imagine what the state of the world would be if we had no written records of what has transpired throughout history. Imagine what the state of the world would be if we had no images from the past. We wouldn't know where we came from. We wouldn't know what has happened. It would be as if the people who lived before us didn't exist. Our beliefs, our values, and the principles we hold dear would fade because it only takes one generation to lose these things.
Wow. I sound like a digital scrapbook cheerleader or something, don't I? I suppose I am, but it is because I see more value in digital scrapbooking than just putting pretty things on a pretty page. I see emotions, story, communication, information, and family. When I make a layout about something that has meaning to me – whether it is my feelings about Christ, Thanksgiving Dinner, or even the fact that I love to wear pink – I am creating a record of my life. I sincerely hope that someday my family will value these things as I have. If nothing else, I am saying, "Hey! I was here."
Suddenly, I am in the mood to create a layout!
- Ro
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