The 17th Day of Thanksgiving: My First Scrapbook

I had some alone time the other day and decided to pull my first scrapbook off the shelf. Of all the scrapbooks I’ve created over the years, my first has a special place in my heart—it’s not that I was the most fabulous scrapbooker as a teenager, but I’m in awe of that book because of the memories it contains. When I flipped through its pages, my mind was flooded with a million different wonderful memories of my life in high school: madrigals, musicals, cheerleading, AP classes, a great GPA I was happy with, and friends I adored. When I see photos of me, I see a spunky girl who wasn’t afraid, who had a whole life of choices and adventure in front of her. I love that teenage girl, and I love revisiting her in my scrapbook because it reminds me of two things: 1) the promise I still have and need to fulfill every day, and 2) how vibrant scrapbooks can make even the most distant memories. I know I don’t have to express all the reasons I love scrapbooks, but sometimes I can’t hold it in! They are truly close to my heart.

When I began scrapbooking, I loved designing my own background and texture papers, and doodling hand-drawn designs with dime-store markers. I cobbled together my embellishments like glitter and “lick-em” stars and would spend hours after school adding photos, telling my stories, and yawning as I finished just one more layout. Often, I sneaked into bed well past midnight.

Today, I still love the art of scrapbooking—it’s relaxing, satisfying, and fun. But as I grow older, I’m even more passionate about the legacy of scrapbooking—being able to capture and preserve moments in time forever so that they are as fresh and real as the day they happened. Some of my friends from those days are gone, yet they live on, forever a teen, in those books. My scrapbooks give me one more reason to be grateful, to celebrate… and to keep on scrapbooking!