Tell Your Story: Why Documenting Your Life and Legacy Matters More Than Ever
By Susan Koshi aka Lady Flava

As I grow older, there’s something I feel more strongly about with each passing year—it’s the importance of telling your story. Not just telling it, but documenting it in a way that future generations can discover, learn from, and feel connected to.

For years, I’ve felt a pull to preserve the voices, experiences, and history of people who have walked unique paths, especially those in the arts and entertainment world who were rarely seen or acknowledged by the masses. That’s why I started the “Tell Your Story with Flava” series. It was a space where people could sit down with me and share their journey—through blogs, videos, and even radio. I envisioned it as a living archive of creative soulz—so that their contributions would not be forgotten or go unnoticed by future generations.

But like many dreams, life got in the way. When I became fed up with life in Las Vegas, I stepped away from that project. Still, the idea never left me. In fact, it’s been tugging at me more lately. I feel myself getting closer to opening up again—this time, for those who are ready to speak and be heard. I want to create space again for those stories to be told and preserved.

On a personal level, I know how meaningful it is to have these stories documented. One of my dad’s older brothers gifted our family a powerful legacy when he wrote a book tracing our Koshi (Japanese) roots. It went all the way back to the beginnings of our family and helped me feel connected to my heritage. I remember the family gatherings in Seattle and the reunions in Denver, where those connections were nurtured.

On my mother’s side, though, the story is more fragmented. She was an only child, and my German grandmother didn’t accept my brothers and me because our father was Japanese. We were cut off from that part of our heritage. And now, later in life, I find myself and my daughters holding unanswered questions. Wishing we had known more. Wanting to understand where we came from and who came before us.

Thankfully, there are parts of our extended family who do an incredible job of sharing their history and staying connected through reunions and storytelling. But even then, I see how much of our collective family culture has shifted. That beautiful rhythm of Sunday dinners after church, the gathering of generations around a table—that’s largely disappeared. Life pulls us in different directions. We stay to ourselves. I’m guilty of that too.

Still, I know how important it is. My girls grew up with the blessing of knowing my parents—feeling that love, experiencing the richness of both their Japanese from my side and Black roots from their father’s side. But even with that, they still have questions. And that’s why I feel such a deep responsibility to encourage others:

Document your story. Your family history. Your legacy. Your truth.

We live in a time when technology has made this easier than ever. Your cellphone is a recording studio, a camera, a journal, a living archive. You don’t need a big production team or fancy equipment. Just your voice, your heart, and the courage to start.

You never know who in your bloodline—maybe generations from now—will be searching for a piece of you to help them understand themselves.

So if you’re reading this, consider this your invitation to begin. Whether it’s through “Tell Your Story with Flava” or your own quiet reflections, start somewhere. Because your story matters. And it deserves to be remembered.

LadyFlava of LadyFlavaNews

Thinking Out Loud | Tell Your Story