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Topic #527
Have you ever kept a diary? Are you still keeping one?
How often do you add an entry?
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I’ve always remained relatively impressed with people who keep a journal or diary. I don’t have that level of discipline. Nor do I have an exciting enough life to chronicle my days. This is why I turn to fiction writing. While I might think that my life is just average and of no remark, someone else may find it fascinating. For instance, the young man reading his Nana’s diary from the 1920s on TikTok. Holy cow is this both hilarious and eye opening about what life was like her time.
Condemning eyebrows aside, the truth is that diaries are of special interest to historians. So why don’t I think I need to bother to contribute to such record? I see myself as the historian and never the subject. Besides, recounting embarrassments is mortifying, and I really don’t think anyone cares to read braggadocios entries, either. What else would I write about?
You just write about your day.
Who is going to want to hear about me rising daily to get ready for work, go to work, and have a work day only to come home, make a dinner, get ready for the next day? My weekends? Oh, you mean sleep late, make breakfast, exercise, errands as needed, brush the dog, walk the dog…
You see what I mean. Should I be talking about the drama? I don’t like to talk about others. Speaking to my best friend about troubles and navigating those is one thing. Gossiping is not my thing. I could probably fill pages with the nonsense of my workmates, but that really makes me look gross. Whatever foibles others have, whatever difficulty I face at the day job–none of it is worthy of writing down. Firstly, as I stated, it’s gossip. Second, it doesn’t resolve the issue, and it gives them more power than they deserve.
What else could I write?
I could make a lot of stuff up, and pretend it is my diary. Back when I was young, I was given a cute little diary, pink with tiny hearts in rainbow colors, and a gold lock. Inside, it had all these interesting things about birthstones, horoscopes, and the like. I tried to write things down, but I found it boring. There was too much focus on self pity and railing against hardship. Depressing!
Perhaps that was my reality, but it did not help me to cope or grow. In fact, I lived in fear that someone might read the pages, and bully me. I was already bullied enough! I didn’t experience enough to log it. Too young to have a life, yet, it wouldn’t have added any insight into the life of a child of the 1980s. There are plenty of movies and videos to go on, regardless.
Journaling was something our creative writing teacher had us undertake for our high school class. I did not find this anymore interesting or of any help to my creative endeavors. I tried! It felt goofy and awkwardly personal for an adolescent already feeling panicked at the personal becoming public. Bullying, still ongoing, this was a huge risk, as it was a composition notebook we brought to school and class daily. Anyone could get hold of it.
Making the personal public.
The biggest takeaway for me on diaries and journals is that you make your personal thoughts and experiences public. As a person who largely keeps things to themselves, due to bullying and criticism, and just downright awful experiences with disclosure, I take a hard pass. This week my daughter presented a composition notebook she wants to keep as a diary. I encouraged it and promised I would never look, unless she was under duress and there was reason to think something might be in it to help. These are her sacred private writings. I’ll never get to see them, unless she openly shares them.
For many, journaling and diary writing is a very cathartic exercise. In addition, it can help a young person improve their writing skills. Don’t take my experiences and fears as how everyone should feel. Write your diaries and journals, and leave that record for future generations to revel in like the TikTok grandson. These things are actually quite important to the historical record.
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I don’t bother writing in a diary these days either. Like you my days are more or less the same and there’s not much to write about.
I wish I could have things to write about, but then again, I do enjoy the quietude.
My private thoughts are just that. Some of them might leak through into my fiction, I couldn’t possibly admit to it.
Exactly! 🙂