Friday Favorites: Journaling

I’ve been keeping a journal ever since I was a kid.  I remember my very first diary as a young child, given to me for a Christmas present.  It came with a lock and a key and was a place where I could write my daily thoughts, special memories and also my most secret feelings. 

Ever since I began making daily entries in that very first diary as a kid, writing has been a way of life for me but I never really looked at it that way until recently.  I never looked at my journals as a form of writing; I viewed them as a form of expression and not necessarily a part of myself I would ever share with anyone else.  For me, journaling is a great release…whether I’m happy, mad, upset, sad, exhausted, confused, or all the above, writing is a way to release those feelings and it helps to work things out and possibly answer lingering questions in my mind.

There are times when reading back through old journals is therapeutic for me.  For most of us, we have many memories but it is easy to forget the details of the past.  I journal because having it all written down means I don’t have to lose the details of my past memories.  I pride myself on a fairly good memory but if I am fortunate enough to live a very long life, there will be many details I will forget as new memories are constantly being made or as my mind fades when I eventually grow old. 

So why did I only recently view journaling as a way of writing?

Greaney went on to make some very interesting points.  She believes there are common traits among journal writers, starting with how many of them might swear they are beginning writers while their work really never sounds or reads that way.  The journal writers instead show a practiced fluidity to their writing which also shows a familiarity with language and the written word.  The writing also appears to be written by someone who has built up their writing muscle and who has spent a lot of time up close and personal with words.

Because it made me look at myself differently.  Even when others have read my work and praised me for it, I wasn’t convinced I could call myself a writer.  From the very beginning when I finally decided to tackle a book, I was afraid to call myself a writer because I thought I had to complete a book to earn that title.  I had faith in my abilities but I was looking towards what I would become in the future, not realizing what I had already become in the present. 

Now that I’ve written a book, I consider myself an author.  And very soon, I will be calling myself a published author.

What do you do to remember the good times, the bad times and everything in between?  Do you keep a journal?  Have you kept a journal all your life or only recently?  Do you think it helps you?  What are your thoughts?