Someone once said “[Journaling] is like whispering to one's self and listening at the same time.” OK, so a “real” person didn’t say that. It was a fictional character: Mina Murray in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, actually.
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But it’s essentially the reason why I still keep a diary.
No, not a chronological diary of events and appointments; a real-life “Dear Diary, this is how I feel today” kind of diary.
I’ve always been embarrassed by it, shoving it away in little bedroom nooks if someone comes over, buying diaries with locks on them and certainly never leaving them lying around.
If you think about keeping a diary, you’re more inclined to think about a 16-year-old writing about their crush/es. Or Bridget Jones, maybe.
I definitely thought I would grow out of it in my 20s, however I’ve consistently scribbled down my insecurities, opinions, reflections and sometimes what I’m going to eat for dinner.
Writing in a diary is so personal. It’s literally writing down thoughts you’ve never spoken out loud to anyone.
It’s an uncensored version of events that have happened in your life and can be a very emotional response to whatever you’re going through in life at that moment.
There’s confessions, there’s drama and, hey, it could make a great soap opera one day. It’s also the best form of cathartic release when crappy things have happened. I’ve written hundreds of pages in my diary about breakups or a death in my family.
Formulating your thoughts and feelings on paper helps you to make sense of the inner workings of your emotions.
Sometimes I’ll start a page filled with so much despair and sadness, and by the end of the page (maybe a few pages) I’ve steered myself out of my pity party and maybe even found a solution to why I’m feeling the way I am.
Or realised I’ve over-dramatised the whole situation and life is actually great.
We live in a society where you can basically make your musings known on the internet via Twitter, Facebook or, if you’re really committed to the cause, Tumblr.
But when you write in a diary, you don’t have to try to be witty or make a great political point – you’re the only one reading it; you already know you’re hilarious.
And the benefit to you? A more stable sense of emotional well-being.
Cheaper than therapy too (unless you like leather-bound books and fancy pens, that is). You can buy a blank book for two bucks or steal some scrap paper from work.
Kathleen Adams, author of Journal to the Self, says: “Journal therapy is all about using personal material as a way of documenting an experience, and learning more about yourself in the process. It lets us say what's on our minds and helps us get – and stay – healthy through listening to our inner desires and needs.”
Essentially, you can write whatever the heck you want in that thing and nobody is going to judge you.
Having said that, you might judge yourself in a few years.
Because, yes, there’s going to be a moment where you stumble upon an old diary when you’re cleaning out your room and read some crazy rant you went on and think “wow, haven’t I (and my grammar) come a long way”.
Which is important because that, my friends, is self-reflection at its very best.
And it’s fun to read old memories that might have been lost in the abyss otherwise.
Oscar Wilde said: “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”
It doesn’t have to be the best piece of literacy that’s ever been produced.
It might feel awkward and weird in the beginning if you haven’t done it since you were a teenager.
But when there’s hundreds of things going on and we’ve got thousands of thoughts in our head each day, writing in a diary can help make sense of it all.
And you might even figure out a thing or two about yourself in the process, but you won’t know until you pick up the pen.
Riley-Rose Harper can be heard on Hit 104.9 from 6-9am on weekdays.