100+ questions

Family Heritage

1. Where is your family from? What was their experience coming to this country?
2. Describe your parents. What were they like? What did they do?
3. Describe your grandparents. What did you enjoy the most about them?
4. How did your grandparents meet?
5. What traditions did your relatives pass down to you?
6. What are some interesting things about your relatives?
7. More stories about my family heritage.

Growing Up

8. Where did you grow up and what was it like there?
9. What did you enjoy doing as a child?
10. How would you describe yourself as a child? Were you happy?
11. How would you describe a perfect day when you were young?
12. Do you have any favorite stories from your childhood?
13. Who were some of your friends growing up? What were they like?
14. What kind of trouble did you get into as a child?
15. How did you celebrate the holidays?
16. What did you like to do in your free time?
17. What were some of the crazy fads you or your friends went through?
18. What were your family finances like growing up and how did that affect you?
19. What were you like in high school?
20. What did you want to be when you grew up?
21. How did you celebrate your birthdays?
22. What was the most exciting thing that happened to you as adolescence?
23. What would people you know find surprising about you as a teen?
24. More stories about growing up.

School

25. Where and when did you go to school? Name all your schools.
26. What were your favorite subjects and teachers? Why?
27. How would your classmates remember you?
28. What are your best memories of elementary and high school? Worst memories?
29. What did you like most about school? Least?
30. What are your most memorable college moments?
31. More stories about my school days.

Relationships

32. How old were you when you went on your first date? What happened?
33. When did you first fall in love? What were the circumstances?
34. Can you tell me about your first kiss?
35. What was your first serious relationship?
36. What lessons have you learned from your relationships?
37. What are some memorable stories from early romances?
38. Have you had your heart broken? What happened?
39. More stories about my relationships.

Marriage & Partnerships

40. How did you meet your husband/wife and what drew you to him/her?
41. Do you have a favorite incident from your courtship?
42. How did you know he/she was “the one”?
43. How did you propose?
44. What were the best times in your marriage? The most difficult times?
45. Did you ever get divorced? Can you tell me about it?
46. What was your wedding like? Describe everything.
47. What are some of your fondest memories with your husband/wife?
48. More stories about my marriage and partnerships.

Children

49. What are your children’s names? Describe them.
50. How did you feel when you found out that you were going to be a parent?
51. Can you describe the moment when you saw your child for the first time?
52. What were your children like as infants and toddlers?
53. How has being a parent changed you?
54. Do you have any favorite stories about your kids?
55. What was the most challenging part about raising kids?
56. What was your goal as a parent?
57. How do you describe yourself as a parent?
58. Do you remember when your last child left home for good? What was that like?
59. More stories about my children.

Working

60. What were some of your first jobs? How much did you make?
61. Tell me something about your favorite job, what inspired you to keep working there?
62. What do/did you do? Why did you choose it as a career?
63. What are some of the things you are proudest of in your career?
64. Describe your finances in your early career. What did things cost? Did you make enough?
65. What lessons has your work life taught you?
66. Do you have any favorite stories from your work life?
67. More stories about my working life.

Military

68. When and where did you serve?Why did you choose it, if you had a choice?
69. What was the most exciting thing that happened to you in the service?
70. What was the most frightening thing that happened to you in the service?
71. What was basic training like?
72. Can you describe how you felt coming home from deployment?
73. Did you ever learn something about a fellow service member that surprised you?
74. How do you think your time in the military affected you?
75. What are some of the best things about being in the service? The worst?
76. More stories about my military life.

Adult life

77. What did you do for fun outside of your job as an adult? Why?
78. What are your hobbies? Why do you do them?
79. What’s the most fun you've had in a single day as an adult?
80. Describe a typical day in your life.
81. What’s the happiest thing that ever happened to you as an adult?
82. What’s the saddest thing that ever happened to you as an adult?
83. More stories about my adult life.

Religion

84. Did you attend church or religious services as a child? What were your earliest memories?
85. Can you tell me about your religious beliefs/spiritual beliefs? What is your religion?
86. What do you like about your religion? Dislike?
87. What was the most awe-inspiring thing that happened because of your religion?
88. What do you think happens to you when you die?
89. More stories about my religion.

Historical Moments

90. What historical events have you witnessed either in person or through the media?
91. What do you consider to be the most significant political event that has occurred during your life?
92. Have you ever fought for a political cause? Why?
93. Describe how you felt about President Kennedy’s assassination?
94. Describe how you felt about the U.S. landing on the moon?
95. Describe how you felt about the fall of the Berlin Wall?
96. Describe how you felt about the explosion of the Challenger?
97. Describe how you felt about the attacks on September 11?
98. More stories about historical moments.

Personal Thoughts

99. What famous person do you admire? What made them admirable?
100. What are some favorites? ( Color, food, ice cream, book, movie, song, sport, etc.)
101. Is there something you wish you could do over again?
102. What is something that you are really proud of and why?
103. What are the goals you are still working toward?
104. When people look back at your life, how do you want to be remembered?
105. What do you think about when you’re alone?
106. Did you suffer because of your race, religion, ethnicity, home country, and language?
107. Tell me about a memorable moment in your life; a time you will never forget.
108. What are some of the changes in our society that you have seen in your lifetime?
109. What is the funniest thing that has happened to you?
110. What are you best known for?
111. What’s the most interesting thing about you that few people know?
112. What’s the biggest change in the world today from the world you knew as a child?
113. How have you changed?
114. What was the nicest act of human kindness you've performed or benefited from?
115. Who has been the most important person in your life? Can you tell me about him or her?
116. Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person teach you?
117. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in life?
118. Are there any funny stories or memories or characters from your life?
119. What was the happiest time in your life?
120. Describe the most challenging part of your life.
121. Do you have any regrets?
122. What are your hopes for what the future holds for you?
123. What are your hopes for what the future holds for your loved ones?
124. What is there about you that no one knows about?
125. What advice do you have for young couples?
126. Do you think about dying? Are you scared?
127. Do you have any last wishes?
128. What have you learned from life?
129. Has an illness changed you? What have you learned?
130. How do you want to be remembered?
131. If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be?
132. What do you want your tombstone to say?
133. What was your most embarrassing moment?
134. What is a skill you'd like to learn and why?
135. What does a perfect day look like to you?
136. How would your friends describe you?
137. What does the word “family” mean to you?
138. What is your most memorable travel experience?
139. What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you?
140. What is your greatest hope?
141. What are the main lessons you’ve learned in life?
142. If you could meet any historical figure, of the past or present, who would it be and why?
143. More personal thoughts.