Can someone help me with ideas on starting an autobiography?

Well, here’s a bunch of ideas for a first sentence.

What @Jeruba said, I couldn’t think of an answer after I answered.

I find autobiographies to be a difficult form of writing because it’s hard to balance out what you think is interesting about yourself without sounding conceited. Think about little anecdotes from your life that you’ve told to your friends. Put in the ones that have been the funniest or most interesting. It’ll be a start, anyway.

Try not to start with “I was born on…” because that’s just kind of… blah. Good luck!

I would probably make an outline first. Get all the facts down on paper, and put the anecdotes in chronological order. At that point, I’d mix it all up, putting things together by category rather than date. Then, tell your stories. Good luck!

@Jeruba @augustlan @Samurai @ParaParaYukiko Thank you guys so much!!! This has helped me a whole lot I was so lost you dont even know how much i appreciate this!

“It all started when I was sure I was a nymphomaniac..”

@Clair Ha! I dont think that would go over with my brand new instructors or classmates LOL

I think many people have at least one pivotal event or experience in their life that makes you think that “I will never look at the world in the same way again.” Perhaps start with identifying one of those experiences, and then you can go more into depth with how you were feeling before the event, what happened to you, what you learned and what lasting impact it had on you. Try simply to start with stream of consciousness and let the ideas flow onto the page – and then go back and edit later! Wish you the best of luck on your assignment!

Maybe think about books or movies that were biographical that you enjoyed. How was the story told? What did you like about it?

You should probably write about yourself.

@ratboy I know but I’m just having trouble starting it. I haven’t done this since 2003. I’m so scared. The class will read it as well as the teachers

You don’t have to report your entire life history, @LuhvKiller. You could summarize a lot and then zero in on one or two significant incidents or themes, such as a subject of special interest in school or a formative experience. The main point of such assignments, besides getting acquainted, is to keep you in an area of confident knowledge so you don’t have to worry about the content or look anything up (and also so you pretty much have to write your own paper).

For example:

— Music has always been an important part of my life.
— Life on a horse farm teaches many lessons.
— Growing up in the city, I’ve had a chance to know many different kinds of people.
— I’ve always known I wanted to study medicine.
— Being the youngest of seven, I’ve known right from the start that my place was last in line.
— I never realized it at the time, but when my grandmother taught me to play blackjack for pennies, she was altering my future career.

Do you get the idea? Make a statement about yourself that is somehow distinctive and ties elements of your history together, and then build your narrative on that.