My Lifeline

Tracking a lifetime, year by year.

This spreadsheet project might seem a bit detailed to most, but it has proven incredibly useful. I still refer to it many times when I need to confirm when a specific event took place—like what grade I was in when a childhood bully confronted me in 1968 (grade 3, as it turns out!). Keeping track of those details becomes harder as the years go by.

How it Started

I began by simply tracking my birthday year-by-year to figure out exactly how old I was in each school grade. This exercise surprised me and led to a personal crusade to confirm dates. What followed was an outstanding adventure:

• I recovered digital reproductions of class photographs from the 1969 Ottawa Teacher's College Archive.
• I accumulated a complete digital edition of every single high school yearbook from my years of attendance (a claim not many high schoolers can make!).

Eventually, I expanded the sheet to track where I was working, where I was living, the car I was driving, and special milestones. It has been handy on more than a few occasions, and I hope it serves as a helpful template if you ever want to track your own milestones.

Summary of what is tracked