Who would have thought that this spiral notebook would become a lifelong gift. This notebook is from 1969, it is a my first journal. It was an assignment from an English teacher and she did something wonderful that was actually life changing for me. After I turned in my first attempt at a journal, she returned it to me telling me to do it over. She said it was a diary and she wanted it to be a journal. She said “write so I can know you” She said a journal is more about who you are than what you do. Hmm I have thanked that teacher many times since then. I have kept a journal ever since and it is a real gift to have introspective glimpses at different times of my life. It is like an inner “growth chart”.
Since I have been home from my time in South Korea I have taken time to continue this enriching process. It is very lifegiving. Writing your story leaves you with a valuable memoir and it doesn’t matter if it is literature in anyone else’s eyes. It is always at the top of your own “best seller” list.
So even if you have never been a writer in the past, I would encourage you to pick up a pen and just have fun with it. Take time for you.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
I've often thought about keeping a journal, but I just stare at the blank pages. I seem to need some topic to write about. I guess part of me thinks that my everyday life is uninteresting to other people.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the next time you and I get together, you could give me some pointers? I do think journals would be a wonderful keepsake as you said, and our children would probably value it immensely after we're gone.