Is it important to you that you leave a mark on the world?

Nope not at all.
I really could care less about any legacies ,I hope Mrs Squeeky would miss me but that is about it.

No.
I don’t feel the urge to leave a mark.
I rather be remembered by a few people of my generation, and by some of the generations after me.
Like I do my grandparents, and some friends that I have lost, both in real (offline) live, and online.

In our family since both parents married and right away moved away from their families including extended families we were left with no knowledge of our Family Heritage.

It was later in life that I tracked down information on them and finally placed into a Family History book for others that may not had known about from where we descend from.

Since no one else is researching it left me to take on that task and thus I self published a book of which some relatives purchased for there own children too.

I posted the link to the book online in case there were more out there who were searching and had many that came out of the woodwork so to speak and were thankful.

Almost every family has at least one who takes the time to research and post, search, eventually write a book so that descendants can find there Grandparents,Parents,siblings and so on.

Please thank that relative or other who researched for your family as some of that information especially DNA analysis could pinpoint health issues before hand.

It is an altruistic thing not a selfish need to have some sort of status.

In the end those that have departed are assured that their life was not in vane, but to had meant something to our Family and its descendants.

No.

I would hope that my daughter would cherish the things that I have made. Some painted objects, some decoupaged objects, and some photos. I really value paintings and drawings that my mom made. Other than that, the stuff I own is really just “stuff.” Some of it may be valuable, and my daughter may like it for what it is, but it’s just stuff. My name is not on a building or anything other than my college thesis. I’m ok with it.

Generations from now a few random people will discover the marks, stains, scars, dents, twists, unnatural acts, careless love, absurd ideas, and other fading evidence I’ve left behind and wonder – “Who the hell did that shit?”

That’s my gift to the future. Help yourselves.

I’ve kept a diary since I was 15 years old. I do it purely for my own amusement, but it may be of some interest to my descendants. I managed to digitise the whole thing during the Covid lockdown.

I also researched my family history during lockdown which was very interesting, to me at least, and to my immediate family but it won’t make me famous.

I do wish at times I had done something noteworthy with my life which might have made my parents proud, but for me personally, I like slipping through life leaving no lasting trace.

“for there is a tread that troubleth the grass and a tread that troubleth it not, and each man in his own heart knoweth which tread he hath.” I must have come across this quotation fifty years ago. Why did it stick in my mind through all those years?

No, I could care less.

@JLoon

What would you say is larger- your pedal footprint or your carbon footprint?

@Brian1946 – Hmmm…how about carnal footprint?

That might be more realistic, and still kind of planet-friendly.

I’m not vain enough to care what others think about me. All I want is to know that my hubby and daughter love me and will miss me when I’m gone

My Mom always told me that you’re not dead as long as somebody remembers you. She left this earth 20 years ago, but she’s still here with me today

Not at all. For me it is more important I leave the world better than I find it. If a few people remember me helping them out when they needed a hand up, I’m good. I don’t want a funeral either, I hate them with a passion.
I’m glad I didn’t bring children into this world, maybe in another life. :)

No.

My kids aren’t psychopaths.
My work was productive and worthy.
My wife has had a better life than she would have without me.
I’m good with that.

Yes, but not out of vanity. I need my books to do well so I can afford my now, but I want my work to be meaningful to others. Due to that, if my work does well, it will outlive me.

There’s a movie I want to get done, but I want it to be 100% Indy.
My daughter is living out her purpose. I had her to be my revenge on the world. She’s a total bitch, so mission accomplished.

Absolutely not. My family, I hope, remembers me. But it is immaterial to me if the rest of the world knows I ever existed.

In fact, being anonymous in this way likely keeps me from being blamed for things I had nothing to do with.

No but after 22 years of teaching (and counting) an average of 60 students per semester (about 2,000 individual students), I suspect a few may remember some of what I taught them.

I’m sure I’ve had some impact on my wife and daughter, for good or ill.

That’ll do.

I’ll answer.

I think I mentioned on other Q’s that I did some video interviews with my parents, and I wish I had interviewed my grandparents. I learned things I did not expect, and I think their stories are part of history, especially my grandparents and great parents. The history of so many things; antisemitism in their countries before the US, history of migrating to America, history of education in NY and education in America midcentury, history of what it was like to be young parents in the 60’s, so many things. I like the video because it shows my parents in their usual style of story telling and banter, and hearing their accents, and I think other people would be interested in what they said. Where I live I listen to people tell me about their lives and I think it is so interesting. Every day people and the twists and turns of their lives.

I think it is good to leave some sort of documentation of your life, a book or video, or scrapbook if any of your younger relatives might be interested. I am not so sure the world will care, but your family might eventually, even if they are disinterested now. I don’t have children, so I hope my niece maybe will be interested in my parents or me. I wish I was closer to my niece and nephew. I have not done any of this regarding myself though, I haven’t written a book or taped a vide about myself. I don’t know if I ever will if not asked? I don’t know if I will get around to it.

I am not a name up in lights person, I don’t need my name on a huge building, but there are things I wish I had accomplished that I would have been remembered for, but I never really did anything big like that, and probably never will. I don’t really want to be in the public eye, or famous, or in politics, because the scrutiny is too intrusive now.

I’ve been in the local newspaper more than once, most recently this past Tuesday, and a friend asked me to sign a copy and send it to her. I told her it was no big deal, there are fluff stories in our paper all of the time and I have been in the paper more than once. I don’t keep all of the stories. I told her it was just some short interview, and she wrote back, “no matter! It’s the fact that you put yourself on record.” I thought that was interesting. A friend of mine found her grandparents’ laundry business listed in a yellow pages from a long time ago, probably 100 years ago. She loves having that.

It does sadden me that I don’t have children to carry on my family. It does bother me that some of the things that are very sentimental to me won’t be appreciated or have the same meaning to anyone once I am gone. It isn’t vanity, it is more like a loss or emptiness.

By striving to minimize my carbon footprint, I’m trying to reduce my environmentally negative mark on the world.

The mark I hope to leave is the small suburban forest that lives in my yards.
As long as I’m alive, it will thrive,
But once I’m gone, it could be “so long”.

@Brian1946 – Now I feel guilty. But trees don’t judge, right ?

Maybe I’ll plant one.

@JLoon

They don’t usually judge, but my Dutch elm said “Leaf me alone!”, and called me a “rootless brute” when I pruned one of his limbs. :p

I only care about getting another day in the sun.

My kids are my legacy (thus far). And through extension the grandkids. I’ve made what I think are additional marks. Graffiti!

I already have. I taught some of these young guys how to approach women and have confidence.

Any little positive influence might spread and help someone else in the future.

Important to me? No. We all leave a mark. Sometimes the mark is noted obviously, publically, sometimes not. Who leaves a more important mark? The much feted artist or the person who A) encouraged that artist as a five year old or B) the person who caused that artist the existential pain that caused the creation of that art?

Context is everything.

My grandfather operated a mining operation and one mine went deep into a rock mountain. The tunnel was so safe no timbering was required. I was wearing a calcium carbide lamp that produces a flame for light.
At one point, deep in the mine, I found a man’s initials from 1947 that he had left on the side of the tunnel using the soot from a calcium carbide lamp. So I left my initials there as well. This was in 1967, and I am sure they are still there and will be for many, many years.

Nope. I won’t know the difference any way. Dead men tell no tales, nor do they care about what people think. I’ll be six feet under.

I weirdly have an orchard named after me in home town. My dad was instrumental in planting it and as I was gravely ill at the time it was named, the committee named it in my honor.