I feel honest on the page.
I have used journals for so many things. I have many that are filled with random musings, poetry, sketches, lists, etc. I filled over 6 journals with the day-to-day happenings of my mission and I'm working on my 6th outside the mission journal.
I got my first journal around the time I was 8 and started to write, but very sporadically. My writing carried little to no detail of daily happenings, but mostly explanations of who I thought I was and what things I liked. Those primitive entries also held my opinions of stupid people at school and who I considered friends of those few people I really associated with.
I have become a better chronicler through the years It's taken a few classes and rereading my old journals to realize how much more I needed to leave to tell the stories of my life.
Scouting and church programs got me to write more about my life and to keep my journal more consistently. When I got to college I was writing nearly everyday and then when I left to Brazil I didn't miss a day for two years. When I got home, I became lax and settled for writing once a week, usually on Sunday. I realized how much was starting to go missing from my weeks and experiences, that I have been getting better at writing more frequently again.
I love reading what former me has to say about the world. It really helps me to see how far I have really come. I have developed from being concerned about having a favorite Pokemon define me to the grown person I am now who doesn't care what other people think about my favorite pokemons.
It's been said that history is written by those who wrote. I know that my contribution so far is a large tote full of journals and various megabytes full of information on my Google Drive, blog, and pen drives. Who knows how much will stand the test of time, but at least for me I know I won't forget.
