5.10.2011

a trip down memory lane.



since the weather didn't provide for sunbathing, i spent the day yesterday doing some spring cleaning. 
i worked on my room... but mostly my closet. 
i pulled everything out. 
sorted it. 
got rid of some of it. 
and then organized it to all fit back in.
of course i could have probably done it much quicker than an entire day but i tend to find things from my past that take me on a trip down memory lane.
i found myself stopping for an especially long time when i found all my past journals. 
the first one started at age eight and they were fairly consistent through out the years until now. 
i was surprised at how much i have already forgotten about my past. you know, the little things. it made me feel old. but it also made me really glad i had documented these memories. memories that throughout my busy life had been set on a shelf in my mind and have since then been collecting dust year after year. 
however, there were plenty of instances where i found myself laughing & thinking.... do i really want people to possibly read these one day?! 
what will they think of the crazy/spontaneous things my friends and i did such as stealing my parents car while they were on a date or sleeping and going to wendy's (on several occasions) when i didn't even have my license! 
(i have already told my parents about taking the car. i figured that since it's several years later and since i didn't get caught by the cops or in an accident, they can't really do anything about it anymore ;)
or what about the times where i was pouring out my heart about my worries & cares? do i want people to read those as well? 
i noticed several times i wrote in my journal "i don't even know why i just wrote about that, cause i don't really want anyone to read it later!" so maybe i should just burn them when i'm old? 
but maybe they will mean something to someone for one reason or another. i don't know who will get a hold of my journals when my life is done. but i guess it doesn't matter cause i'll be gone anyway, right?
i would love to have journals to read from my ancestors. that give a glimpse into what life was like when they grew up from their point of view. to read things that give me a better understanding of who they were, the things they liked doing, the hard times they got through, their happiest moments, etc. 
and although i love the option of blogging for much quicker writing and not to mention pictures! i still think there is something special about things written by the hand of the author. 
it seems more personal and real.
i hope to continue writing little journal entries here & there for even just myself. to reminisce the next time i clean out my closet. 


have any of you kept journals? what do you think about people reading them once you are gone?

5 comments:

  1. They become the compost for the book you are going to write. I remember a movie about Jackie Kennedy that ended with her dying and her butler burning all her papers in the fireplace-it all seemed so tragic. Next time I see you I will lend you a book called "Writing the Bones" about how critical it is to always have a notebook to write in everyday! (Oh I can only dream!)

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  2. I want to hear more of these stories from your teenage years! I can't stand the thought of other people reading my journals...though I do wish my ancestors left behind some juicy stuff for me to read...--Katelyn

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  3. nice post. i think i would die if people ever read 90% of my journal! so silly. but i haven't decided what to do with them yet.

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  4. haha I know right?! I would die if someone read the stuff that I write down in those. Thats why I decided that I would write a book of all the good memories and some of the bad and put it into something that I might let others read. :) you should write one too. Its fun to compile all that stuff into one long story of how you got to be who you are today. think about it :)

    good times though! haha we were so crazy!! miss it!

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  5. I know what you mean. I was just thinking about burning mine. But I want to read yours:)

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