In Episode 4, I took the time to stand at my grandparent’s graveside and reflect on all they did to allow me to be where I am today. In Episode 5, I felt I was able to get a glimpse at just a little bit of what they went through all those years ago.
Pictured in this post is my grandparent’s shared headstone at South Park Cemetery in Roswell. It is one among hundreds and hundreds of headstones. On one level it is exciting to be a part of telling even a small bit of their story, but as I look out at the other headstones I see hundreds upon hundreds of other untold stories.
I would never have connected with John if I had not gone back into my own family’s history to learn more about them. The more I learn, the more exciting it becomes and the more I learn about myself and my community. I’m reminded that families and communities grow – and sometimes heal – by telling their story to the next generation.
What stories are in your family that need to be told? What stories have yet to be discovered?
I am only one man in a big world. Even if I spent all my time telling people’s stories I could never come close to telling them all, or doing them all justice. That’s why I believe it’s important for everyone, even you, to be the storytellers.
Not every story needs to be put on a podcast or written on paper. Often, when I’m working with one of our customers at Bullock’s Jewelry, I feel I get to be a part of telling and writing that person’s story. They come in with an emotion, a relationship, or a feeling that they want to express. It is my job to take my talents and help them express that in the form of jewelry given to someone they love.
Reflecting back on my grandparent’s lives, I feel that is what they did best. They did good work and they did good work done well.
Whatever talents you have, the world needs you to use them to tell history’s story. Perhaps now more than ever it is essential that we do. Take whatever talents or means that you have and use them to share the message of life that has been handed down to you.
Tell the world their story.
One day, my headstone will likely be one of the many out at South Park Cemetery. I will have left behind a legacy, defined by the actions I took throughout my life. I will be remembered for what I stood for and for the story that I helped weave.
I want to be one of the many counted among those headstones as world-changers. I want to be one who handed down the wisdom of history and set up the next generation for a brighter future.
What about you?
-Kyle Bullock
