Since fifth grade I have journaled in some form or another. I still have all my old notebooks. Dozens of them.
Even though we have lived in our new apartment for 7.5 months now, my wife and I have finally unpacked all of the boxes from our move. A couple boxes included these journals. One of the unique aspects of three of my closest relationships have included keeping journals with them, my wife being one. In high school and college my wife and I would trade a notebook back and forth, journaling to and with one another. It allowed us to be thoughtful and honest with each other in ways that we just wouldn’t be when we were together face to face. It really grew and helped our relationship.
I haven’t read through the journals for years. Some of them I haven’t even looked at since I wrote in them. But the other day, when we were unpacking, I did. I was shocked by how much I have changed/grown. I mean, it’s not surprising that I have matured in many ways. And of course I assume that I have grown since my junior year in college, but it was shocking to read what were indeed the words, sentences, and paragraphs that I had written only six years ago or so and have them feel so foreign to me. It’s like I was reading someone else’s journals in many ways.
It was a simple and good reminder of my journey thus far. It was also a good kick in the pants to keep up with my journaling. Some of the entries I wrote even talked about how important it is for me to document what’s going on in life so that we can look back and see where I’ve come from. Even though I don’t write in physical notebooks anymore I do use the app DayOne for Mac and the iPhone. But even with this app, which is incredibly easy and simple to use, I fail to write as much as I should to process and document the journey that I am on. This is especially true with all of the transitions that have been happening in my life.
So thank you past self on encouraging me to keep journaling, even though life is busy.
Stepping Back 