Graduation Of A Journal

Writers can’t help but write. It’s in our blood. They often say it’s ink rather than blood running through our veins. At a young age we begin writing in a journal.

At first our journal may only be a few sentences describing a personal observation we made. In those early years our vocabulary is not expansive. Spelling may be a nightmare. But, we had a driving need to write words.

As writers grow up we still carry a journal. It’s just the content that changes. In mature words and phrases we begin to write out our fears and our fantasies. Sometimes we paint a better world for ourselves. Other times we are describing the hell we call daily life.

Many times our journals are not really a true reflection of who we are. The journal can show some of our interests or it can be a complete lie.

In our teen years we begin to write poetry filled with pain and unrequited love. The world is a stage filled with sadness and heartbreak. Wet-spots where tears fell from the writer dot the angst filled pages.

The journal follows a writer into adulthood. Once again, the content changes. At once it is a vault for our innermost conversations with self and a notepad for our greatest writing ideas. Pages of disjointed thoughts follow chapters on the answers to all the mysteries of the universe.

These days one is more likely to find a writer keeping an electronic journal rather than a hard covered one filled with pages. Apps on the phone and the computer are easily accessible and can sync with each other. Sadly the cumbersome paper journal and pen is a thing of the past for the most part.

What is not of the past, and will never go away, are writers. The world will always be filled with those of us who are willing to bare our souls and solve the world’s problems through the words we write. We may change the form of the journal we keep, but we are always around.