Kicking It Old School
Wednesday was the throwback to the teens day it seems. First, Nathan Bransford's You Tell Me and then YA Highway does their road trip back to teen writing. So while digging out the photos Thursday night, I also unearthed the journals.
The thing you should know about me and journaling is that I've never done it right. I usually did the laundry list or spewed tons of hostility onto the page that never creeps out my pie hole. (And after reading a few entries from early 10th grade, be glad that it hasn't.) After a while, I would get bored.
Number of journals I've tried to keep and ultimately failed: 3.
The longest time that I kept a journal: 10 months.
During this 10 month span, I managed to complete almost two volumes in neon pen with my overly large D'Nealian cursive. It was these journals that I pulled out last night. I found notes from my two best friends in high school plus little souvenirs from shows, trips, and anything related to boys I crushed on. There's a certain degree of lameness these journals contain that I don't even think the most masterful YA author could convey.
A prime example: under the March 23, 1995 entry there is a leaf from some kind of tree inserted within the pages. (My journal entries always spanned multiple pages.) Written in blue ink on the leaf: "leaf from Sprite the Tree." I have no idea what the significance of this was as I didn't seem to write anything down. Just from looking at the other entries it has something to do with my week long trip to Washington DC and maybe, more specifically, on our free day where we spent the zoo.
Between the neon pink script and the dull prose, it's no wonder I got bored keeping a journal. (I was originally going to include one of the entries, but kept on finding some other exciting internet thing to do instead. Count your blessings and hope that I never crack these pages open again. (Even though I did find an unsent letter to a crush that I'm frightened that I will eventually read.)
For all you old school journalers out there, what did your teen entries look like?
The thing you should know about me and journaling is that I've never done it right. I usually did the laundry list or spewed tons of hostility onto the page that never creeps out my pie hole. (And after reading a few entries from early 10th grade, be glad that it hasn't.) After a while, I would get bored.
Number of journals I've tried to keep and ultimately failed: 3.
The longest time that I kept a journal: 10 months.
During this 10 month span, I managed to complete almost two volumes in neon pen with my overly large D'Nealian cursive. It was these journals that I pulled out last night. I found notes from my two best friends in high school plus little souvenirs from shows, trips, and anything related to boys I crushed on. There's a certain degree of lameness these journals contain that I don't even think the most masterful YA author could convey.
A prime example: under the March 23, 1995 entry there is a leaf from some kind of tree inserted within the pages. (My journal entries always spanned multiple pages.) Written in blue ink on the leaf: "leaf from Sprite the Tree." I have no idea what the significance of this was as I didn't seem to write anything down. Just from looking at the other entries it has something to do with my week long trip to Washington DC and maybe, more specifically, on our free day where we spent the zoo.
Between the neon pink script and the dull prose, it's no wonder I got bored keeping a journal. (I was originally going to include one of the entries, but kept on finding some other exciting internet thing to do instead. Count your blessings and hope that I never crack these pages open again. (Even though I did find an unsent letter to a crush that I'm frightened that I will eventually read.)
For all you old school journalers out there, what did your teen entries look like?