If I were to write my life story...

I read the first chapter of dad's bio and the thing that struck me as interesting is that he placed his birth and early life in the context of historical events. When I think about writing my own bio, it would not have occurred to me to say that I was born when President Kennedy was in office, one year before his assassination. Weird too that when I think of the early sixties I think of U.S. politics. Why not that Diefenbaker was PM? Of course my perspective changed recently when I read "The Help". This book underscored how the whole civil rights movement came about and how recent that was. Another revolution that occurred during my early life was the feminist movement, or women's lib as it was called back then. Thinking about the sixties, the age of aquarius, drug and hippie culture, free love, makes me realize what a turbulent and fascinating time I grew up in. But when you think about war, as my Dad was born between to two world wars, of course the sixties brought the Vietnam War and the peace movement as well. We are definitely influenced by our southern neighbours but during the sixties, because of the media, America was not nearly as influential as it is today. So is my default to US happenings, a product of almost fifty years of indoctrination, or did I get that as a child? My feeling is the former. So back to writing my bio, my perspective or approach would be more insular than dad's. Perhaps the reason is that the times he grew up in were so different from today that he feels compelled to explain the way it was and why it was that way. Now that's not to say that since I was born nothing has changed because the times have obviously changed drastically. But fifty years, compared to eighty plus, makes a huge difference in the 20th century. That is why older people today have lived in such fascinating times. Growing up with no water or electricity must have had a huge impact on a child who grew up to live in the information age. Having pondered this for a few minutes makes me realize that putting yourself in a historical context makes a lot of sense. It definitely would influence how you were raised and how you perceive the world.