After researching a bit about National Diary Day in honor of this September 22nd, I’ve come across articles mainly on historical diary entries. Cómo se dice… boring? Since the Internet has failed to properly recognize this perfect holiday, I will! If you don’t keep a diary or if you don’t journal out your thoughts… well, good luck, Charlie.
1. Oh, so you had a tough day? Tell me more.
I open up to that fresh, new page and I can hear it speak to me. No matter how my day went, whether it was great, boring, or downright terrible, my journal is waiting to be filled with my thoughts.
2. “I really like this boy, and I think he’s the one… I ThInK hE’S tHE oNe.”
I know, KNOW, I am not the only one who has written this down (or at least thought it)! Somehow, whenever I start talking to a cute boy from a class or club and all of a sudden, my hopes get a bit too high. I always write about it in my journal one day and the next day, I realize Mr. Right was more of a Mr. Right Now type of crush.
3. When your daily entry is too long for your one-page limit.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I cannot (and will not!) write past one page. Sometimes my day ends at noon, and that’s life! My journal entries all start out at the top of a new page; going over my one-page limit would make things messy. No thank you.
4. When something entertaining actually happens and you think, “I’ll remember this for my journal later”.
Every once in a while, something spontaneous, jaw-dropping, or even embarrassing happens and I always think, “oooh, I can’t wait to write this tea down later”. I know some people resort to their Finsta or their mom, but my journal is my go-to. There are no judgments, no comments, and a weight is lifted off my shoulders.
5. Trying to think how you spent five hours studying but didn’t get anything done.
I start my entries with the same introduction of, “Today was good” or whatever that day was. After a couple of sentences, I start to realize I wasted away my day (this happens rarely). I want to write all the stuff I got done, but then I come to realize I spent an insane amount of time on Instagram (okay, maybe every weekend).
6. When you write “September 31” but remember that the month ends on the 30th.
There have been multiple times where I write the wrong day of the week or the wrong date. I only realize it the next day when I have to think a bit harder about what the correct date is. Two Fridays in one week? Don’t mind if I do.
Keeping a journal for the past two years has helped me reflect on both my day and myself overall. It’s not just about getting out thoughts or penning in dreams too crazy to tell anyone. Recording feelings of sadness, hope, or excitement will soon make you recognize who you really are. You might start to see you’re a lot happier than you think, you’re better at writing than you used to be, or you have areas of improvement. Communicating these feelings with yourself is step one. Step two? Understanding what they mean.