Ever so often, I write in my journal and it has impacted my life tremendously.
It’s been six years now since I started journaling consistently. (I’ve officially lived long enough to be able to say “six years ago” about something?)
When I was younger, having a diary seemed childish to most people I knew. It felt more mature to call it ‘journal’ and ‘journaling’. Now though, the idea of diaries being naive has washed out on me and I can’t believe I ever cared. A quick look around and you’ll see that it has actually become more of a trendy habit than anything else. It feels like the whole world journals now…which is good. It’s good, guys.
For me, journaling has always been an outlet. A way for me to let out everything I feel and more importantly, to document life. I write about a sullen day or a new favourite meal or why I brought a stray puppy home (in a dream).
It just doesn’t cut it for me when I think to the past and all my memory has to offer is a summary. Like: “it was a tough year,” or “it was a fun year,” or “it was the year I had a crush on Trevor Noah.” No no no, I want all the dibs. “What made you smile at 5pm on June 3, 2019?” “What nuisance did you cause in Lagos traffic that day?” “At what point did you finally agree to let a man into your life?” I want to know all the whats, whys and hows.
It feels so snug to know my life is recorded somewhere for me to skimmer through whenever I like.
I got my 2022 journal just a week ago. For context, it’s the third week of April. And yes, it usually takes me that long to find the book I know would be in a museum someday or in the hands of my great-grandson. History lies in my hands, people. It needs to be a thorough and lengthy decision.
This year’s journal is definitely one of the best ones I’ve ever found, thank you Ebeano—although I’m aware this was sheer luck and you don’t generally have good journal taste. The inscription says: “TU ME FAIS RIRE. MON COEUR EST À TOI” : “YOU MAKE ME LAUGH. MY HEART IS YOURS”. Ugh! It was love at first sight! The dark brown leather cover is timeless and the French inscription is so romantic. What more, I’m currently learning French so it feels very “for me”.
Do we want a little peep inside my journal? Too late, here you go:
I recently started making video journals as well. I’ve been doing them every month but I’ll be slowing down soon if the “full storage” pop-ups don’t stop bugging me.
In a world where it always feels like all the moments are slipping through our fingers, and there is no way to freeze it (yes this is coming directly from Meryl Streep’s song “Slipping through my fingers”), it is charming and special to tell the story of your life back to yourself. Consider it.
