Do you keep a journal?

[rubysoho]

In the past I have blogged about various projects. About ten years ago I also used to keep a day-to-day journal. Recently I have had the urge to write about my running/cycling so today I picked up an old notebook and did just that.

Do you keep a journal? What do you write about?

[Tri Girl]

In my early teens/twenties I kept a daily journal. Now I blog. Kinda the same, but more visually appealing to me.

I love re-reading all my old journals. I was such a silly, silly girl...

[GLC1968]

In my early teens/twenties I kept a daily journal. Now I blog. Kinda the same, but more visually appealing to me.

I love re-reading all my old journals. I was such a silly, silly girl...

This. Except that I hardly blog anymore either....no time.

[rubysoho]

tri-girl, I know what you mean. I reread my journals from high school and college. Oh man...

I have had a couple blogs online but for some reason paper and pen felt right today. I enjoy blogs because it is so easy to incorporate photos. Here was my most recent that I kept before my promotion to a desk job (computer work is just not as interesting as birthing piglets or other farming!): http://farmgirlnextdoor.wordpress.com

[Veronica]

I write in a journal, keep workout notes in another journal and I blog. My journal is really for me. Currently I'm using a really nice leather bound journal for the personal stuff and a cute teddy bear one that a student (Tyler who's now a junior!) gave me. The blog is public and gets edited differently.

Veronica

[NbyNW]

I've kept journals at times but then at some point my routine gets interrupted, or my reason for journaling takes a backseat. I have sometimes journaled to work through a problem, or kept a sketchbook in my nightstand to jot down ideas that won't let me sleep or dreams that I want to capture as soon as I wake up. I've tried occasionally doing a daily writing exercise a la The Artist's Way. But can't say I've been consistent.

Right now I'm keeping a food journal, because I'm curious to track if I'm consistently getting a good variety of foods and balanced nutrition.

[OakLeaf]

I should .... but I rarely crack it open unless I'm in crisis. Maybe if I were more diligent about journaling, there'd be fewer crises.

[roo4]

I used to keep a Trip Journal in my younger years. One trip occurred when I was 22. I went backpacking with some college pals. In the evenings, we read selections from our writing.

Friend: As the sun went down I reflected on the wonders of nature and the elemental feeling of oneness with the world. The amazing colors on the horizon led me to blah blah blah....

Mine: Trail peters out at mile post 6. Try going right toward shore to find it. Good water source 100 yds right of large rock formation.

I was mocked for writing a "fact book" not a journal. But as I reminded my friends, in 5 years when we return, whose writing would come in handy?

[shootingstar]

I don't really treat my blogs like a journal at all.

They are focused on specific main themes of: cycling, art, travel and food, with cycling as the running thread. Each blog post has a theme or subject to get me to stay focused.

There are whole sections of my life that won't appear in the blogs. One of them is job/career related.

I know that people use their personal blog to vent their anger and frustration such as one would use a journal. But for myself: is that the sort of imprint I want to leave behind on the Internet? So cycling is my catharsis and to think about stuff off-line.

[Bethany1]

I used to keep a journal when I was a teenager. Now I don't. I mostly blog about quilting stuff with my quilting friends and have added cycling entries as well.

[Melalvai]

I am sporadic about my journal(s). My journals are different than my blogs. I have several journals, theoretically they have different purposes, but I no longer remember what each one is for. The latest one is an idea my 16 year old daughter had. Every evening before going to bed she & I get out our "Highlights Journals". We each write down the highlight(s) of our day. Sometimes we write the same thing, more often we have different things.

One day I said "It was a really bad day, I think I'll skip writing in it tonight." She replied, "These are the days you most need to write in it." And sure enough, I was able to remember something small but positive that had happened, which had been overshadowed by the negativity of the day.

She's darn smart for a teenage girl. No, she's just darn smart. For any age.

[Trek-chick]

I used to keep personal journals when I was younger but, now I just keep a journal in our RV to write down our trips etc. It is fun looking back and reading up on our RV travels. I include what campsite we had, place and weather in all entries.