Journaling
Some of our journals.
I wanted to have a page on my website where I could suggest something of benefit to every reader (many will already know about this) -- something that the reader could do in their spare time and be of immense value.
Call it a diary or journal or journaling (popular term now) or anything else you want to call it. I have been journaling for many years. Thankfully, I started before the age of computers. Had it been today and I looked it up on the Internet, I probably would have never started -- too much information, varied purposes, too many instructions and contradictions. Just keep that in mind should you look up the activity. Therefore, what I write on the subject will be simple and straightforward.
I believe that keeping a personal journal is an important written (or typed or recorded) expression of one's self. And why would anyone want to keep a personal record of one's self? Because, we are alive and doing things and we have thoughts. The worst thing in the world is to go through life -- doing things and having thoughts -- and the only thing that is known is what is recorded on a birth certificate, marriage license, a census record and an obituary (all probably written by someone else). Unless something is written down and saved, these few things will probably be all that will be known after two or three generations. In addition and far worse is to deprive a child or grandchild or their descendants a glimpse (or more than that) of an ancestor's life. How many have gone to a funeral and heard the statement: "I wish I knew more about him (or her)"
Start a journal with having something to write in that has good quality paper and a writing instrument that will produce permanent writing (or it can be typed or recorded on journaling websites -- while keeping a backup). In keeping things simple, I recommend the following:
* Don't use something with predated pages -- you may want to put more or less than one day's worth of writing per page;
* Write whatever you want to write -- there are no rules, except your own;
* Don't use non-descriptive phrases such as "work as usual" or "cleaned house," etc. Write something about the activity;
* Don't be formal and particular about your entries -- write like yourself;
* Don't be concerned with sentence structure, grammar, punctuation or even spelling -- just get the information recorded;
* Record your thoughts, if desired, about what you wrote about; and
* Write regularly.
With the above in mind, the following is an example of my journal entry -- from April 8, 1985:
Call it a diary or journal or journaling (popular term now) or anything else you want to call it. I have been journaling for many years. Thankfully, I started before the age of computers. Had it been today and I looked it up on the Internet, I probably would have never started -- too much information, varied purposes, too many instructions and contradictions. Just keep that in mind should you look up the activity. Therefore, what I write on the subject will be simple and straightforward.
I believe that keeping a personal journal is an important written (or typed or recorded) expression of one's self. And why would anyone want to keep a personal record of one's self? Because, we are alive and doing things and we have thoughts. The worst thing in the world is to go through life -- doing things and having thoughts -- and the only thing that is known is what is recorded on a birth certificate, marriage license, a census record and an obituary (all probably written by someone else). Unless something is written down and saved, these few things will probably be all that will be known after two or three generations. In addition and far worse is to deprive a child or grandchild or their descendants a glimpse (or more than that) of an ancestor's life. How many have gone to a funeral and heard the statement: "I wish I knew more about him (or her)"
Start a journal with having something to write in that has good quality paper and a writing instrument that will produce permanent writing (or it can be typed or recorded on journaling websites -- while keeping a backup). In keeping things simple, I recommend the following:
* Don't use something with predated pages -- you may want to put more or less than one day's worth of writing per page;
* Write whatever you want to write -- there are no rules, except your own;
* Don't use non-descriptive phrases such as "work as usual" or "cleaned house," etc. Write something about the activity;
* Don't be formal and particular about your entries -- write like yourself;
* Don't be concerned with sentence structure, grammar, punctuation or even spelling -- just get the information recorded;
* Record your thoughts, if desired, about what you wrote about; and
* Write regularly.
With the above in mind, the following is an example of my journal entry -- from April 8, 1985:
Twenty-nine years later, the errors still do not bother me and neither does my penmanship, even though it is terrible. I know what I did that day and it was good.
Write in your personal journal as long as you are able to write. Who knows what you may decide to do with your journals -- write your own personal history, have someone to write it for you, give them to your next of kin or just put your last journal and others in a safe place after you decide to quit writing.
This is where it gets really personal for me. My maternal great grandmother, maternal grandmother and mother kept notes and personal journals about their lives. When I received these records, I realized I had a treasure-trove of immense worth. From the notes and journals, I wrote short life histories of 93, 125 and 113 pages respectively for each generation (covering the years 1874 to 2000) and gave copies to my children and a family representative of my mother's siblings. This all started from a little girl (my great grandmother) who stated -- when asked by her mother to write a letter -- "Oh! the agony of trying to think of enough to fill two pages." These ancestors have inspired me to follow their example and write about my life and I encourage my family to do the same.
Keeping a journal starts when a person sits down and writes a few sentences about their day and commits to doing it regularly. Those few sentences from time to time may be trivial to the writer, but to those who read it, they have some personal history. Do it!
Write in your personal journal as long as you are able to write. Who knows what you may decide to do with your journals -- write your own personal history, have someone to write it for you, give them to your next of kin or just put your last journal and others in a safe place after you decide to quit writing.
This is where it gets really personal for me. My maternal great grandmother, maternal grandmother and mother kept notes and personal journals about their lives. When I received these records, I realized I had a treasure-trove of immense worth. From the notes and journals, I wrote short life histories of 93, 125 and 113 pages respectively for each generation (covering the years 1874 to 2000) and gave copies to my children and a family representative of my mother's siblings. This all started from a little girl (my great grandmother) who stated -- when asked by her mother to write a letter -- "Oh! the agony of trying to think of enough to fill two pages." These ancestors have inspired me to follow their example and write about my life and I encourage my family to do the same.
Keeping a journal starts when a person sits down and writes a few sentences about their day and commits to doing it regularly. Those few sentences from time to time may be trivial to the writer, but to those who read it, they have some personal history. Do it!
Four volumes of personal history.