Writing Prompt: Family History

 It is pretty obvious to any that read this blog, that I am at best an inconsistent writer. I probably spend more time in my  head then I do putting words down. My dear friend, Faye sent me a book of writing prompts over the holidays. She picked up a copy for herself. In an effort to get the words out of my head on a more regular basis, we are going to pick a new writing prompt every Wednesday and then spending a couple of days to do something with it.  Faye has picked this weeks writing prompt.

Writing Prompt: Do you know any interesting facts about your family history, if so what?

I am loosely interested in genealogy.  Mostly I like to know where the bodies are buried and if I ever needed a kidney, who to go to.  This means I have done a little bit of genealogy on both side of my family tree. Someone on my mothers side of the tree at one time was very much interested in genealogy and completed almost 8 generations  of tracking that almost makes me feel like British royalty. They included a little bit of history on the starting point of the family.

I think that one of the most interesting points in family history is that Solomon Scholl who is used as the starting point in the genealogy was a farmer, cabinet maker and undertaker. I have to marvel at the different career changes through out his life and it gives me hope that if I ever feel stagnant that I can dig up the energy to change my direction.  It also give me a laugh that I got into genealogy to know where the bodies were buried and here is an ancestor that literally knew where the bodies were buried. 

Those Millennials

About a month ago I was having a conversation with a friend and she posed the question, “What do I think about working with Millennials?” 

There are not too many questions that throw me for a loop, but that one did, and here is why. I am a millennial. Or at least by the broad ranges the Internet has on the different generations, I am mostly a millennial.   

Somehow, I don’t think her question was about what my thoughts were with working with my own generation.  That would be silly.  I think the core of her question was, “What do you think about working with a younger generation, whatever it is called?”

My diplomatic answer is that there are pros and cons with working with every generation. 

As with any generation, I think that the key to working with them is to be adaptable to the human factor.  I find that the older I get, there are a few things that hold true no matter the generation.

1. Respect - If you don’t respect others abilities, idea’s and time, you can’t expect them to do the same.
2. Motivation- People are motivated by different things, based off where they are in life. An age group does not define motivation. It defines likely common goals. Getting to know people will help you understand their motivation behind actions.  
3. Age is not a definition -An age group does not define a person. Grouping people into age groups and defining character traits is much like saying that everyone that is born under the Gemini zodiac has the same characteristics. While some of the aspects may be true, it does not hold true for all. 
4. Education- Successful people never quit learning.  There is always something to learn, that sparks interest. The method of learning may change with each generation, but the thirst to do better or learn something doesn’t change. 

What do you think?