Some Truths About Keeping A Diary


Quote of the day: 
The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it. -James M. Barrie


I came across some of my old diary entries recently, written many years ago. This of course was before this blog came to be. I recognized my handwriting and the words inked deep into the skin of the soft delicate pages, as if peeling off layers and layers of clothing only to find intricate tattoos underneath. I should add that some of these entries ring a bell, but with others I can neither make head nor tail of their underlying meanings. If I were to jump inside a time machine though, I'm sure I'll find that at that point in time, in that very moment, my emotions must have mattered so much, and my conviction to record it all even more so.

Write down your thoughts, for many years from now you'll read them and marvel at your own capability. In October 2005, I noted: 'The rain is falling in torrents, it seems the clouds had held back tears all morning because by mid-afternoon, they had turned a darkish grey. I am sprawled on the couch - with the TV volume at the loudest.' 

Of course I don't seem to have any recollection of this entry. I try to imagine a younger version of me listening to the rain, or watching from my window, raindrops crashing against it and rolling off one after the other. But the picture is all vague and obscure - like a murky mirror that has stopped reflecting, or a photo that's all blurry. I realize that I cannot feel now as I felt then. How special it must have been to witness such weather, enough to dedicate a diary entry to. But its all part of history now - my history.

I find keeping a journal, or a blog, or video log (Vlog) -which is basically blogging with video significant. Although some may disagree about these mediums being classified as diaries or journals, but they are definitely the modern way of story-telling. Whether you wish to share this story with others will come into play eventually, but this is yours and no one can take it away from you. For me, keeping diaries back then was therapeutic, and got me through difficult periods, helped me to improve my writing skills, understand myself better and also left a gift for the future me -which I am now sharing with you. The world is unpredictable, but there will always be the comfort of writing our own stories, one page, post, and video at a time.


Peace. Love.Serenity* 


Current Listen: Gotye -Eyes Wide Open






Post a Comment

45 Comments

  1. As I describe my blog, a public diary. It can be very odd going back a number of years and reading what you have written and have little recollection of writing it, or even at times of certain events.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No matter what form of interaction you choose, to verbalise your valid feelings, to get it out there to share, it cathartic and therapeutic, indeed. Your blog, for instance, an email to the world.

    Pawsitive wishes,

    Penny

    ReplyDelete
  3. This was vulnerable. ..I basically write an online journal and I have grown from past entries. I know what you mean, I read some really old ones and I don't remember the reason behind some of them. I write for my children and it helped me gain my voice back. It's very therapeutic xox ♡

    ReplyDelete
  4. Remembering what you wrote about in a Diary or a 'note' years ago can be bothersome at times. I don't keep a diary, but, I did write down daily items regarding my sons when they were small. Some of the notes don't know make any sense at all.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I never really kept a diary but, on occasion, I wrote down my feelings/thoughts and kept them. I recently read some and had to shake my head and laugh because I felt i was a bit of a numscal:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I kept a journal for many years. When I read an entry, the whole day pops into my head. It triggers a memory that brings up the whole day.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like that was a day for just lounging around and enjoying the weather. I never keep a journal, but I sometimes think I should. Then the urge passes.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am a natural journal keeper myself. I do have a diary somewhere that I wrote for several years during my early twenties. I should really revisit it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yyyyaaayy! We Top 10 Yo!! We friGGing Made it Yo!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I cannot feel now as I felt then'

      And Chief of Staff.. the extract above got me the most sir. Its amazing King BlogoraTTi.. How words inked on Paper or Typed and sent to the Google Cloud (AKA Blogger) can stand as such lasting legacies.. As not just words but memories.. as not just stories.. but tales to heal another.. maybe younger.. maybe older.

      It is in the light of this sir.. that I hope.. that Monday by Monday.. after my #ItcanonlybeGOD hashtag.. My confusion will give hope to another... as what we do here Baba isnt just blogging.. But like you Rightfully and Ghen GhenLY said sir.. Its telling our Story.. with hope of haling the world.. 1 post at a time.

      Blessings!

      "P.S: **Wears Cheeky smile.. So its Valentine's day in a bit yeah.. Soooo.. We do hope you get to do a mushy mushy post on that day oh! **Enters Chronic Igbo Man Mode.. NwaNNe Forget all this your Iron Man Gangster Arrangement.. hehehe Boss. We your fans know you have a mushy mushy side.. **Runs Away!

      Delete
  10. My blog is my public diary, where I share what I think is appropriate for sharing. But of course there is loads going on in my life (and in my head) that I don't want others to read - not for it being embarrasing, but because these things are highly personal and mostly involve someone else, too. These thoughts are kept in another diary - not electronically, but written on paper.

    Sometimes I go back to the first few posts on my blog. They were of a very different character than most of what I write nowadays. Back then, my blog served a different purpose, and that shows. But it's still the same blog, and I still remember very clearly how I felt when I wrote those first entries.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I read a journal of mine of 3 years ago, and it is so amazing what I have gone through in just that recent time ago. I could even believe that I wrote many of those things.

    If only they stayed this way forever

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello, I do not keep a journal or diary. I do see that writing things down can be therapeutic. Great post, thanks for sharing. Enjoy your day!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such an interesting post to read. I do have a diary and refer to it quite often ... but it is not in depth ... which is perhaps a shame, because for those who do keep diaries / journals they often help you recall an event or happening.

    I do think they can help if 'one' is going through a disturbing or worrying time because they help to collect your thoughts ...

    Hope your week is going well.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely words. I kept a diary as a child... Not sure why I stopped writing...

    xoxox,
    CC

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think diaries are a good thing but I've never had the patience (or the time - when younger) to do one.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It may be that my blogs do constitute a journal of sorts.

    ReplyDelete
  17. There must have been some kind of magic in that moment that you decided to write about it :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have kept a journal (of one form or another) for years--starting the summer I graduated from college in 79. I used to look back a lot at what I wrote but now I do less of that. For many years, I kept a leatherbound notebook for travel and did a journal on a computer when home, now I write it all in leatherbound notebooks...

    ReplyDelete
  19. A blog is like a diary. In 2011 there was a story: "Ludwig Hirsch - the Last Poet". And in the story was a poem of his, which I translated and put on the blog. When I looked at the blog in response to your posting to see if could remember diary-type things from 5 years ago and when I rediscovered Hirsch's poem and the translation I found I couldn't remember doing it, although when I read the post again for the first time in 5 years I said to myself it what I would have written and would write now. An interesting exercise. Many thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  20. As always, good works here, Blogoratti_!
    __My Scribble Books, over time, seem to have gained some flakey crusts. _m

    scribble book
    of this time's oven
    a crust

    ReplyDelete
  21. I have a friend who write details of her family's day each and every day. If we ever want to know the date when we did something she just checks her journals. So neat!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I too have looked at old writings and didn't quite get why I felt the need to put them on paper. But I totally agree, the emotions must have been strong enough for me to pick up my pen. I can hardly find the time to write anymore but I used to find it very therapeutic.
    http://fashionablyidu.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  23. I too have looked at old writings and didn't quite get why I felt the need to put them on paper. But I totally agree, the emotions must have been strong enough for me to pick up my pen. I can hardly find the time to write anymore but I used to find it very therapeutic.
    http://fashionablyidu.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great post dear!

    http://helderschicplace.blogspot.com/2016/02/50-shades-of-gray.html

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Blogoratti - I started a diary as kid - it went nowhere .. I'm not a natural recorder of the minutiae of life ... I have my aunt's diaries for 5 years - filled with minutiae ... which I guess I could refer to at some stage.

    The blog is just my way of learning about various things that interest me - but not about my thoughts on life. I'm just glad the blog resonates ... that is a great support and boon ...

    I'm happy to share my ideas and thoughts with those with people who I relate to .. but others unknowns and from other cultures - it'd be way too difficult: well I hate it when people can't get to grips with what you're saying ... simply because of the different culture ...

    Cheers - Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  26. I think of my blog as both an outlet for my passion (in my case cottages and simple living), as well as a journal of my daily life. Have a happy day.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I like the quote.

    My first diary was when I was in secondary school. I saw this beautiful official diary on my mum's dresser and I asked her for it because I just loved the way it looked and I just wanted to keep it. ahaha. Then I watched a movie where the teen-heroine wrote stuff in her diary,I decided to do same...it was awkward at first because I didn't know what to write...later it became a habit. I wrote every single thought that came into my head.

    In the higher institution, I caught my roommate reading my diary!I burnt that diary and others at home, but laughed at some of my entries as being childish..but I couldn't stop the habit because I loved writing...so I destroyed every diary when it became full...my last long hand writing diary was in 2013! I went electronic-al, deleted it in 2015, because what if my phone gets missing? ...And yes! I have opened another one last month...AHAHAHA...

    A very interesting post.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Writing is really a skill, a gift and a therapeutic one at that.
    www.ethniques.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. Really interesting post...thx for sharing! xx

    ReplyDelete
  30. I kept a diary for many years when I was younger.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I totally agree with you. Sometimes, I read my old journals and I am like what was I thinking. But, the words are so beautiful and so innocent that I am glad I wrote them down. They serve as a way to remind me of my youth and wisdom.

    www.funmiwrites.com

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love reading my old diaries from when I was child :)
    Thanks a lot for your last comment!
    Xx
    Larissa
    cenestquedelachance.blogspot.de

    ReplyDelete
  33. I have kept a journal for years and years and have many of them tucked away in a bin. Once I started blogging I stopped my journals because that is what my blog is. : )

    ReplyDelete
  34. I kept a diary as a kid, but beyond that, I never managed it. I love your description of the rain from that past entry. I think being able to combine my words with art works for me more than a traditional diary...

    ReplyDelete
  35. My blog is my creative outlet, my place to have fun and also a little like a journal. Every now and then I go back and read some of my old posts and they surprise me since I've forgotten all about them!

    ReplyDelete
  36. You are such a great writer. Reading old diaries must be fun!
    www.effortlesslady.com

    ReplyDelete
  37. What a great post! I have always been amazed when I look back at old diaries and pieces of writing. It is fascinating how much we change and I am always stunned at what I don't remember thinking. :)
    ~Jess

    ReplyDelete
  38. I keep dream journals to track similarities and events that come to pass. Sometimes we have the same dream over and over and if we journal and track what we were feeling in our lives at that particular point we can find the connection to the re-occurring dream. It is usually a message to ourselve that we need to take care of something in our lives. I could get lost in old journals for hours. Maybe, we should both go to page 22 line 2 and see what it says.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I find it fascinating to look back at things I've written long ago. Like you, I sometimes wonder what I meant by what I said. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  40. You are right Blogoratti saying: The world is unpredictable. I think a blog is adequate to a diary. You could always read your own thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I read some of my old journals towards the end of last year! I was amazed at how much I've grown.. My perspective about certain things have changed. That's a plus for me!

    ReplyDelete
  42. A wonderful post . Made my day . Even I write diaries and have so many piled up. Ya it's good to read the old ones . So many bells rings in my head but as you said it's all a memory ! Days are flying
    And at the age of 27 I still write probably can read it when I am 40 ...ha ha

    ReplyDelete
  43. Good morning -- though I suppose by now it's the afternoon in the UK! I just wanted to thank you for stopping by The Marmelade Gypsy with your very kind comment and also check out your blog. I looked through a number of posts but this one particular resonated as I agree about blogs, vlogs, and other similar formats. Like you, I recently rediscovered some of those old journals, ripe with both thoughtful, articulate observations and some embarrassing purple prose! And like you, some of those issues that seemed so important, I don't remember the actual event! I confess, when a flooded basement took out more than a few of these golden oldies, I was relieved that they wouldn't survive me and end up in an estate sale long after I'm gone!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting and commenting.

Do connect with me on my other platforms below.

e: blogoratti@gmail.com
twitter: Iamblogoratti
Instagram: Iamblogoratti