Keeping A Diary
Keeping a diary or journal is a great way to express your emotions on paper and treasure experiences. Years from now, you'll wonder what you were doing years ago. A diary will remind you of the good - and bad - times you had in your past. A diary can also help vent out anger and frustration as well as excitement. It is a great way to express your feelings and pour out your heart when you're sad or when you just need someone (well, something actually) to tell your innermost thoughts to. Many of us started writing journal one time or another but never kept it up. We started during a difficult time and simply abandoned writing when things got better. It doesn't have to be that way. Writing a journal can also be to record happy memories.
Make sure your diary reflects your personality.
Some of the ways people personalize diaries are:
~Adding scraps, like movie ticket stubs, receipts, flower petals, etc.
~Gluing in photographs
~Making sketches and drawings
~Writing poems
~Choosing a quotation or a goal of the day
Write in some basic information about yourself on the first page.
You could include your name, your age, your best friend, your occupation or school grade, and a few of your hobbies and favorite things. Sometimes people include a "reward if found" note, just in case it gets lost.
Start your first entry by labeling the top with the weekday and date, the time, and possibly the place you're writing.
Write your entry as if you were talking to your best friend, or even to yourself. Remember that things may be different in the future.
**Don't be afraid to even give your diary a name. Pretend it is a real person, not a non living object. This one day may become your best friend!
You can write your frustrations and celebrations, but also write everyday things about your schedule, your friends, and the things you like to do.
People forget things they think they will always remember, and these everyday things will be very meaningful to you later. Try to write positive in there too. Being positive can help you in the darkest of times.
Start again if you have a break from writing.
If you do skip a day, days, or even weeks, don't worry about it. Just start in again from the current day. Obsessively trying to catch up with all your past events is the quickest way to lose interest in a diary. If you're still remembering something weeks later that you didn't write about, it will come up again in your mind later and you can write about it then. So Don't worry if you skip a day, week, or even a month. it is totally fine
Read your old entries every so often and see what you think now in comparison to then.
But do this when you are in an accepting mood of yourself! It does not help to be mean and judge your former self and then throw away your diary in disgust. Be nice to yourself and treat your old diaries like letters from your former self to your present self. More importantly, see how much you have grown and learned from your experiences. At the end of the day, that is the true beauty of a diary, of your own personal and emotional growth as you strive to better yourself every day
Make sure you hide it too.
It's a personal diary so it needs to be safe! A hollow book is a good place to hide a diary.
Tips and Tricks
~Enjoy it! You shouldn't feel like doing homework when writing in your diary.
~If you don't want a diary then don't start one. Just have fun!
~If you decide to read your earlier entries and theres something you dont like, dont rip out the pages or scribble on them! Things are going to be different in the past than they are now. But in a couple of years and you read them you will be happy you kept everything you ever did.
~Be honest in your diary. If you can't say what you really feel, what's the point?
~Try to put it somewhere that you'll remember to write in it. If you shove it in the bottom of the drawer, you might forget
Things you will need(or might need)
A Favorite Pen:
ballpoint, gel, and fountain pens are great options to look into. They can have barrels and ink in a variety of colors
Page Decorations:
Photographs, tickets, acid-free stickers, cut-outs, a favorite collector's card, ribbons, pressed flowers, acid-free printer paper, and anything else
A Lock and Key
a mini combination lock, a locking case, or a very good hiding place for your diary
A Special Spot
where you can comfortably go to focus and write. Some people actually set up a designated place in their homes for this
Make sure your diary reflects your personality.
Some of the ways people personalize diaries are:
~Adding scraps, like movie ticket stubs, receipts, flower petals, etc.
~Gluing in photographs
~Making sketches and drawings
~Writing poems
~Choosing a quotation or a goal of the day
Write in some basic information about yourself on the first page.
You could include your name, your age, your best friend, your occupation or school grade, and a few of your hobbies and favorite things. Sometimes people include a "reward if found" note, just in case it gets lost.
Start your first entry by labeling the top with the weekday and date, the time, and possibly the place you're writing.
Write your entry as if you were talking to your best friend, or even to yourself. Remember that things may be different in the future.
**Don't be afraid to even give your diary a name. Pretend it is a real person, not a non living object. This one day may become your best friend!
You can write your frustrations and celebrations, but also write everyday things about your schedule, your friends, and the things you like to do.
People forget things they think they will always remember, and these everyday things will be very meaningful to you later. Try to write positive in there too. Being positive can help you in the darkest of times.
Start again if you have a break from writing.
If you do skip a day, days, or even weeks, don't worry about it. Just start in again from the current day. Obsessively trying to catch up with all your past events is the quickest way to lose interest in a diary. If you're still remembering something weeks later that you didn't write about, it will come up again in your mind later and you can write about it then. So Don't worry if you skip a day, week, or even a month. it is totally fine
Read your old entries every so often and see what you think now in comparison to then.
But do this when you are in an accepting mood of yourself! It does not help to be mean and judge your former self and then throw away your diary in disgust. Be nice to yourself and treat your old diaries like letters from your former self to your present self. More importantly, see how much you have grown and learned from your experiences. At the end of the day, that is the true beauty of a diary, of your own personal and emotional growth as you strive to better yourself every day
Make sure you hide it too.
It's a personal diary so it needs to be safe! A hollow book is a good place to hide a diary.
- You can also hide your diary in other places like between the mattress and the bed frame, stuck up under a table/chair, in a video case, in a shoe packet, or in your jacket.
Tips and Tricks
~Enjoy it! You shouldn't feel like doing homework when writing in your diary.
~If you don't want a diary then don't start one. Just have fun!
~If you decide to read your earlier entries and theres something you dont like, dont rip out the pages or scribble on them! Things are going to be different in the past than they are now. But in a couple of years and you read them you will be happy you kept everything you ever did.
~Be honest in your diary. If you can't say what you really feel, what's the point?
~Try to put it somewhere that you'll remember to write in it. If you shove it in the bottom of the drawer, you might forget
Things you will need(or might need)
A Favorite Pen:
ballpoint, gel, and fountain pens are great options to look into. They can have barrels and ink in a variety of colors
Page Decorations:
Photographs, tickets, acid-free stickers, cut-outs, a favorite collector's card, ribbons, pressed flowers, acid-free printer paper, and anything else
A Lock and Key
a mini combination lock, a locking case, or a very good hiding place for your diary
A Special Spot
where you can comfortably go to focus and write. Some people actually set up a designated place in their homes for this