Scrapbooking and how it’s part of my identity

You all know the story of how I started scrapping. TLDR version: In 1998, my aunt Jean showed me one of hers and I was hooked. Now some (gets out calculator) 27 years later and I’m still going. Scrapbooking has changed tremendously in that time, and I love it more today than ever. It’s a huge part of my life and definitely part of my identity.

I started scrapping with the idea that I would somehow tell the story of my life so that one day my children could look back and see how cool their mom was. It was what scrapbooking was about then. The Mormon’s started it with the idea to document the history of the family. Makes sense.

About 15 years ago I had a moment where I realized I wasn’t going to have kids to share these with (though my niece has become the kid I’m sharing these with.  I joke with her that her inheritance is hidden in my scrapbooks and she has to look through them all to find it). I had a crisis on my hands. Who was I scrapping for then? Maybe this was all for nothing. I took a couple of months off to deal with this mental crisis. I started thinking this was a waste of time and I should just hang up my scissors and move on to another hobby.

When I finally got down to asking why I wanted to still do this? To what end? I discovered that I fell for the story the scrapbook had told us, we’re doing this for our family history. That the entire reason we do this was for someone else. But that’s not the case, at least for me. I realized that I scrap because I WANT to scrap. I took a completely different view from “having” to scrapbook to “wanting” to scrapbook. I took some time to write down the pros and cons of scrapping and realized there were some very definite reasons I still wanted to do this.

The Story of Me
Let’s face it, we all like to talk about our accomplishments and about our lives. Scrapbooking allows me to tell the important stories and the mundane stories. Frankly, I kinda like the day-to-day stories. You know, like what kind of coffee you get from Starbucks on the regular. Life isn’t about the BIG stuff, it’s about the little stuff. All the little things that come together to make us who we are. Mom’s death taught me this. I miss all the little stuff with her now.  And the best part about scrapping the mundane, day-to-day life, my older self can look back and marvel at just how far technology and life has come. The “remember when” moments is something I’m looking forward to.

The Process
It’s not surprising to anyone that the actual process of scrapbooking is on the top of my list.  And the process, for me, goes beyond selecting the layout/paper/photos etc, it’s about the actual process of putting it all together. From organizing my photos, to organizing my stash, to tracking the outcomes ( doesn’t everyone have a spreadsheet tracking their pages?), to the data that comes out in the end. I know it’s very nerdy of me and that’s a part of my personality that fits perfectly with scrapbooking.

The Creative Outlet
THIS is the key for me. Life gets stressful and knowing I can go into my scrapbook room and be creative resets my stress levels. I never think about work, or the list of chores that need to be done, or the tires for the car I need to get, or the laundry that’s piling up. No, for me, the scrapbook room is my oasis. Even if I’m not scrapping, just shuffling through my stash gets the creative juices flowing.

The Memories
Scrapbooking isn’t about just creating a layout and walking away. No, it’s about reliving all those memories again and again. It’s not just about reliving that memory as I build the layout, but when I flip through the scrapbook I relive them again. AND since I do the smaller scrapbooks, I can relive them when family and friends flip through them.

And so I decided 15 or so years ago that I would keep on keeping on with scrapbooking. I don’t care if all these books get thrown out upon my death (I do hope they at least flip through them). I’m going to keep scrapping anything I want and keep my scrappy self happy. When I’m happy, everything around me stays happy. Scrapbooking brings me joy, helps me remember the past, and allows me to pull at those creative strings and feel proud of the pages I make. My books may not ever be viewed by other people, and coming to that conclusion opened the door for me and freed me to just scrap.

Part of my identity is scrapbooking. It defines a very large part of me. I can’t just leave it. I need it. I’m going to continue to embrace this hobby and continue to scrap my heart out. Because at the end of the day, my memories, my stories, my life is really all I have. I hope someone finds joy in these albums some day. But if they don’t, I’m ok with that. They have already given me so much.