Kevin, when I was a kid of 10, in the early 70s, I was at a friends' house and observed his grandmother writing in a thick book. I asked her what she was writing, and she told me it's a journal she has kept since she was a young girl of all her life experiences. Then I asked her why she did it. What she said has stayed with me since. "If your life is important enough to live, then it's important enough to record."
That resonated with me, and I have kept a journal ever since. A few years later, I read Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie, which prompted me to keep a detailed travel journal of all the places I've been, the people I met, the foods, the customs, and the numerous experiences, and adventures. This is more of a legacy for me than anything else I've written.
I started journaling at age 12. Continued off and on until recently (we'll say 50 years). Two years ago my mother passed quickly. Among my emotional fall-out was the realization that I could die and leave all these pages of teen-aged (college, young adult, mature adult) angst for someone to find. Ugh. So, about 6 months ago I stopped, even though, like for so many, the drive was mental, spiritual, and emotional processing. Maybe I need to find a way to make them all self destruct after a certain period.
I think you underestimate how much the people you leave behind would be grateful to see all of that, and learn new things about you at a time when they thought they’d lost you forever. No one will be offended by your teen angst.
And, frankly, you won’t be around to care if they are! So your journals can only give, not take anything away. They’re a treasure. Don’t deprive your family of that!
On a side note, I haven’t been to the arctic either but I have lived in North Dakota for about 18 years, so I have a certain appreciation for how terrible it can be. I’m glad they left the journals for others to read.
Concerning journals, I was at wal-mart waiting for an oil change today. Like any self respecting reader and writer, I gravitated over to the book section where I saw some guided journals. Now I write fiction nearly every day and have considered a journal or auto-biography, but who would want to read it? Well, so I thought…
My mother passed away a week ago last Sunday. It was somewhat unexpected, although she has had many health issues over the past several years. She has spent the last few months telling me stories about her life. Some of it made me frankly uncomfortable.
I’m glad she shared them with me now.
I may just need to write down my own history for my kids and their kids. I might even need to write down my mom’s history too.
It might not be the story of a cold, lonely death in the arctic, but it’s still important in its own way.
Kevin, when I was a kid of 10, in the early 70s, I was at a friends' house and observed his grandmother writing in a thick book. I asked her what she was writing, and she told me it's a journal she has kept since she was a young girl of all her life experiences. Then I asked her why she did it. What she said has stayed with me since. "If your life is important enough to live, then it's important enough to record."
That resonated with me, and I have kept a journal ever since. A few years later, I read Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie, which prompted me to keep a detailed travel journal of all the places I've been, the people I met, the foods, the customs, and the numerous experiences, and adventures. This is more of a legacy for me than anything else I've written.
Well, I love everything about this story, so well done.
I started journaling at age 12. Continued off and on until recently (we'll say 50 years). Two years ago my mother passed quickly. Among my emotional fall-out was the realization that I could die and leave all these pages of teen-aged (college, young adult, mature adult) angst for someone to find. Ugh. So, about 6 months ago I stopped, even though, like for so many, the drive was mental, spiritual, and emotional processing. Maybe I need to find a way to make them all self destruct after a certain period.
I think you underestimate how much the people you leave behind would be grateful to see all of that, and learn new things about you at a time when they thought they’d lost you forever. No one will be offended by your teen angst.
And, frankly, you won’t be around to care if they are! So your journals can only give, not take anything away. They’re a treasure. Don’t deprive your family of that!
Kevin, that was beautifully written.
On a side note, I haven’t been to the arctic either but I have lived in North Dakota for about 18 years, so I have a certain appreciation for how terrible it can be. I’m glad they left the journals for others to read.
Concerning journals, I was at wal-mart waiting for an oil change today. Like any self respecting reader and writer, I gravitated over to the book section where I saw some guided journals. Now I write fiction nearly every day and have considered a journal or auto-biography, but who would want to read it? Well, so I thought…
My mother passed away a week ago last Sunday. It was somewhat unexpected, although she has had many health issues over the past several years. She has spent the last few months telling me stories about her life. Some of it made me frankly uncomfortable.
I’m glad she shared them with me now.
I may just need to write down my own history for my kids and their kids. I might even need to write down my mom’s history too.
It might not be the story of a cold, lonely death in the arctic, but it’s still important in its own way.
That’s the power of something like a journal. When we’re gone, the people that love us get the benefit of our thoughts, one last time.