Personal History
School
1. You attended school for the first time.
2. You made friends or a best friend at school.
3. You attended your favorite (or least favorite) class.
4. You got involved in a group or sport at school or after school.
5. You graduated from high school.
6. You graduated from college or university.
7. You took an important test.
Family, Friends and Relationships
8. You attended a significant family gathering.
9. You fought with a loved one or a family member.
10. You fell in love for the first time.
11. You met and fell in love with your future spouse.
12. You got engaged.
13. You got married.
14. You built a home life.
15. You had a baby, witnessed the birth of your child or adopted a child.
16. You added a pet to the family.
17. You got divorced.
18. You lost a loved one.
Work
19. You got your first job and your first paycheck.
20. You got a promotion.
21. You achieved something significant at work.
22. You got fired or lost a job.
23. You opened a business or made an investment.
24. You retired.
Life Learning
25. You moved out of your family’s home.
26. You accomplished something that took a lot of effort.
27. You discovered something about yourself.
28. You earned an award.
29. You overcame an obstacle.
30. You dared to do something that others around you considered to be unconventional.
31. You learned to do certain things by yourself.
32. You experienced a big failure for the first time.
33. You did something that changed your perspective.
34. You did something important for someone else.
35. You experienced something that made you rethink what you were doing.
36. You met someone who had a big influence on you.
37. You experienced an important religious or philosophical moment.
38. You suffered from an illness or cared for someone with an illness.
Hobbies
39. You learned how to do your favorite hobby.
40. You discovered your life’s passions.
41. You attended an important event.
42. You got involved in a club or organization.
43. You discovered your favorite nature spot or a connection with nature.
Travel
44. You took a family vacation.
45. You moved to another house, city or country.
46. You took a road trip.
47. You took your first trip abroad.
48. You met someone on a trip who changed your perspective.
History
49. You became aware of what was happening in the world or your community.
50. You witnessed or participated in an important moment in American history, such as World War II or September 11.
Significant Events of 1962
Our lives can be better understood when we are aware of the historical context in which we were born. The period of history in which we live, comes with its own unique challenges, expectations and limitations. These factors shape our personal identity. To understand someone, we must also understand their times:
- USSR sends arms to Cuba, setting off the “Cuban Missile Crisis” with the U.S.
- Uganda and Tanganyika become independent nations (Tanganyika subsequently merged with Zanzibar in 1964 to become Tanzania). The Algerian War of Independence ended with the country winning its independence from France. Also, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Rwanda and Burundi gain their independence.
- U2 pilot Gary Powers is traded by the USSR for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, who had been captured by the U.S.
- A test of a W47 warhead fired from a Polaris missile, the only time a nuclear missile has been test fired with its warhead detonated, occurs near Palmyra Atoll south of Hawaii.
- The Space Needle finished construction for the World’s Fair in Seattle.
- AT&T’s Telstar, the world’s first commercial communications satellite, is launched into orbit and activated the next day.
- John H. Glenn, Jr., became the first American to orbit Earth aboard “Friendship-7”, circling the planet three times, lasting a total of 4 hours, 55 minutes.
- President John F. Kennedy, at a speech at Rice University, reaffirms that the U.S. will put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.
- The TWA Flight Center opened at TWA’s new terminal building at New York’s Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) was designed by Eero Saarinen and Associates. Also, Dulles International Airport, in Washington, D.C., is dedicated by President John F. Kennedy.
- Dodger Stadium officially opened at Chavez Ravine.
- Philadelphia Warriors Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a 169-147 win over the New York Knickerbockers.
- During a new moon and solar eclipse, an extremely rare grand conjunction of the classical planets occurs (it includes all five of the naked-eye planets plus the Sun and Moon).
- The S. S. Kresge Company opens its first Kmart discount store in Garden City, Michigan. The Dayton Hudson Corporation opens the first of its Target discount stores, in Roseville, Minnesota. The first Walmart store, at this time known as Wal-Mart, opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
- Spider-Man (created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko) and the Hulk (created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) were introduced by Marvel Comics.
- Dr. No, the first James Bond film, premieres at the London Pavilion, featuring Sean Connery.
- The Rolling Stones make their debut at London’s Marquee Club.
- Marilyn Monroe is found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills and chloral hydrate at her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
- Frank Lee Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin escape from the Alcatraz Island prison.
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novella “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”, about life in the gulag, is published in Novy Mir, in an unprecedented acknowledgement of the Soviet Union’s Stalinist past.
- Second Vatican Council: Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.