From 100milefreepress.net/opinion
100 Mile Free Press editor Patrick Davies reflects on the value of journaling
For the last year or so now I've been thinking about starting to keep a regular journal.
As a writer and a journalist, I spend the vast majority of my time writing in some form or another. Whether or not I'm writing up a story on a local artist or editing one of my reporter Misha's stories, I'm always working with words. It's both my passion and profession.
That's why I think playing video games and painting models have become my hobbies in recent years. Much as I do love what I do, variety is the spice of life. Spending my workday writing and then doing creative writing in the evening can be draining, which is why up until now I've never really kept any form of journal.
However, that's not always been the case.
When I went on vacation to Southeast Asia in 2015 and Cuba in 2016, I kept journals. At the time I was just starting to think about becoming a reporter and I felt a desire to document this time so I would remember it for years to come.
With a simple pen and notebook, I took notes about what we did, how I felt and my thoughts on the trip. Just this past week, for the first time in years, I decided to read them again.
I was struck by a few things. First off, my rather loose grasp of grammar and proper spelling. Now while I don't claim to be perfect now, I cringed a little bit at my improper use of there, their and they're, missing words and in general and my seeming love for run-on sentences. It showed how much I've grown as a writer and matured as an individual.
Once I got past that, however, I was amazed by how much I did document. I recall making it a personal challenge where I would write every day, usually late in the evening or the morning, about our experiences. I would regale my readers (myself mostly, as it turned out) with what I ate, what I did, observations about the culture and the people we met. Reading those words transports me right back to the chaotic streets of Bangkok, the night-time breeze of Havana and a dozen other memories I haven't thought back on in years.
These journals and the memories they contain are deeply precious to me and it made me think of what I am forgetting now by not keeping a journal. While it's true that every day isn't going to consist of riding elephants, flying across the world or other exciting events, it still matters. Our day-to-day lives can often blend together and looking back on these last few years I know there are moments and fun memories I have forgotten or can no longer tie to an exact date.
At the end of the day, who we are is made up of and defined by our experiences, our memories and our relationships. When I look back at my journals I not only remember who I was, but why I became the man I am today and that's just from five weeks out of the more than 1,000 I have lived.
So keeping a journal throughout the year would do the same thing. It will allow me to look back on the follies of my mid-twenties and smile, just as I did when I read my journals from my teenage years. Besides, if I won't chronicle my own life, who else will?
I'll finish, I think, with the final thoughts I penned almost a decade ago after coming home from Southeast Asia.
"This trip just confirmed what I already knew. It's not about the destination, it's about the road you take in between. The friends you meet, the experiences you share. My advice would be to enjoy the ride, but make sure it is the ride you want. None of us are here forever, but it's what we do with the time we have, the way we interact with others, that defines us. That's a pretty deep and Lekker thought, if I do say so myself." Patrick Davies, July 26, 2015.
https://www.100milefreepress.net/opinion/paper-quips-benefits-of-keeping-a-journal-7591843
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