Whatever Happened to: Diaries

 

Whatever happened to Diaries?

Diaries used to be special gifts given to girls so they could express their deepest secrets, hidden desires, and all manner of teenage angst and coming-of-age ness. At least, this is how I thought of diaries, musical jewelry boxes, and Bonnie Bell perfume oil.

Locked with a special key on the end of my eternal, never to lose charm bracelet, my diary was my special friend with whom I could tell (write) anything. She, my diary, even had a name! Inside, one would find all my hopes and dreams, my hates and loves, and where friends and foes were gossiped about. I loved my diary and cherished each one I received, growing old along with me.

By the time I had my fifth diary, I had given up and moved on to journaling. Long entries of daily life and musings replaced a few sentences, or three, in my diary entries. Here I could write to my heart’s content and never get tired of pouring out my soul onto the pages of my journal. For hours I would spill all my worries and daily actions as a catharsis for some crisis I didn’t handle well. Or express feelings about an issue I didn’t dare say aloud to anyone other than on the page.

I guess you could say that writing has been in my blood for quite some time. I’m not the only one who has ventured down this road of expression, I’m sure, but I wonder if this practice has faded or if we have moved on to advanced and fancier ways of expressing ourselves.

I suppose baring our “souls” onto an internet platform such as YouTube Vlogs, Instagram, and Facebook, to name a few, has replaced the idea of venting in a journal. I, for one, have moved on to Blogs and authorship. However great these avenues of expression might be, I think these platforms can expose and share a bit too much. Here we need to be careful. Is the art of keeping hidden thoughts to oneself lost? Where is the mystery of the hidden self? These technological advances give us a new way to share, but I think some things should still be kept secret. Not everything should be shared. 

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Therein lies the beauty of writing in a diary or journal. The thoughts of life and its unknown mystery are still worth writing about and exploring. It is a lonely vigil, to be sure, but worth the time to gather and express your thoughts. A way to examine who we are and how we feel about our world today, is so important.  

Taking a minute to reflect on our daily lives when we put pen to paper can also be therapeutic. It can help us see those things that were fuzzy before and maybe shed light on our inner conflicts. We can express ourselves in many ways when writing and expose a lot of ourselves in doing so. Photos and crafting books help, of course, but the feeling evoked when the moment happens is best expressed in writing. A lot is learned about a person when reading what they’ve written. At least, I think so.

What about you? Whatever happened to diaries? Are they still given as gifts? Or is the art of expression or imaginative thought put to paper lost on this current generation or on ourselves? The beautifully embossed cover of a lined or unlined book, journal, or diary beckons me whenever I see one.

So how about you? I say, let’s express ourselves with words. They are everlasting.

~DaMarie

Photo Courtesy of Joanna Kosinska