Step 1. Make a list of significant events that have happened in your life. Start with the year you were born . You can list important dates such as the year you graduated, got married, started jobs, vacations. Also, list emotional highs and lows:  betrayals, losses, inspirations, revelations, epiphanies.

Step 2. Choose specific years from this list and research historical events that happened during those years.

Step 3.  From your lists: Choose an event that you think people would want to know more about.  Or, choose events that capture the essence of you.

Step 4: Write about the event. Include specific details and use anecdotes.* Tie in your personal events with historical events. For example:  My junior high friends and I swiveled on cherry-red stools at Woolworth’s in 1962 in San Francisco, not realizing that folks with certain colored skin were not allowed the same privileges in other parts of the world.

*Anecdote:  A short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature.

Next step:  Turn this freewrite into a personal essay.  For ideas about personal essay, click on the Just Write category on The Write Spot Blog.