Scroll to the bottom for the interview with Jen Allen, event director for Family Search and RootsTech.
Share your story, even if your voice shakes.
Seven years ago, my friend/social media colleague, Janet, invited me to be a RootsTech ambassador. Share about family history on social media? I’m in!
The first few years as an ambassador, I battled self-imposed imposter syndrome. What was a lifestyle blogger/former journalist doing in the media hub? I’d sign up for every interview opportunity and scribble quotes in my notebook as fast as I could while others asked their questions. But who was I to speak up? My equipment wasn’t as high-tech, my experience in the industry was as small as the ribbons on my name tag.
But the pull of family discoveries, family connections was too strong. I slowly began to find my voice, my people. I started asking more questions and finding more intersections with my areas of expertise and family history.
Before RootsTech, I claimed to be a lifestyle/travel blogger. Family history slowly edged itself in, but could that be a thing? I remember the first few times I said I was a family history blogger at blogging conferences. I said it hesitantly, but then the magic started to happen. People began to open up about their family history, too!
In 2019, I thought – maybe I have something to share? I submitted a proposal to speak about Using Facebook Groups for Family History with two of my Season for Family friends. Thrilled, terrified – I loved speaking at 2020 RootsTech and the friendships/connections multiplied faster than my nerves could. And then the pandemic hit.
Another ambassador, Olivia, reached out about doing a 21 Day Experiment to help share positivity and the mental health benefits of family history – why not? With the experiment, came the opportunity to do live interviews. I’ve clung to the written word by my fingernails for so long. My house isn’t nice enough, there’s a gap in my teeth, I need to lose weight, what if I stuttered like I did when I was a kid, what if I didn’t have the right answers … I came up with a lot of reasons to hand over the opportunities to others. But the call of stories spoke louder and I faced those doubts/fears. Did I make mistakes? You bet.
When RootsTech 2021 was entirely virtual and I filmed four classes from my home – the doubts and insecurities crept back in. I’m not a video editor. I need to take more public speaking classes. But I did it with sheer grit and lots of my mom’s prayers. I shared my story! And the more I shared, the more I discovered. Photos, connections, stories, extended cousins, friends have literally flooded into my life bringing me immense amounts of joy. People who I was once intimidated to approach have become dear friends.
And now this year I was given the opportunity to conduct a one-on-one interview with Jen Allen, the director of events for Family Search and RootsTech. What is this charmed life? I wish I could go back and tell the young mom shrinking into those white interview couches in the media hub what was in her future. What was going to happen when she worked through her fears and embraced the power of making and sharing family connections.
That’s what happened when I signed up for RootsTech for the first time. I’ve never missed a conference since (I’m counting the year I watched from the hospital when Emmalyn was born). I went from possibly the shyest person in the Salt Palace to interviewing the RootsTech elite. But that’s not the biggest change. In discovering more about my family, my capacity to love, to forgive, to communicate, to heal has increased exponentially. And oh the stories I can tell now! In searching for their stories, I discovered important details about my own. I found my voice and the strength to share my story. What could happen in the next seven years for you if you attended Rootstech? Enjoy this sneak peek into RootsTech 2022 and sign up!
Want more tips on connecting with your family and making the most discoveries at Rootstech? Read this!
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