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Journaling - The Write Stuff For You?
Just Want to Talk | Last Active: Dec 6, 2025 | Replies (561)Comment receiving replies
I wrote my first poem when I was 5 years old. It was a fascinating discovery to see how 26 letters could be arranged into a seemingly endless variety of words, describing my world around me and what was going on.
It wasn't until I got out of high school that I discovered my father had been keeping a journal since his junior high school years. He even made a special wooden box to hold his paper and pens. He chronicled many moves, a mother's death at his young age, and his time serving in the US Navy during WW II on the USS Enterprise. He also kept detailed daily postings of weather on the header of each page of his books, and the goings-on of his marriage and growing family. He kept track of his kids as we ventured off and started our own lives, and told of the heartbreak of my mother's dementia and her long-tenured journey of Silence. I had always hoped to receive his journals after he passed, but it was not to be.
So, I guess my journaling came generationally to me. Over the years it was natural to pick up pen and paper, recording what was going on in my heart/head/world/life. My poetry and observations on life are in a separate book, or books as it may be. My journals where my soul gets poured out, are in their own. I have written about heartache and heartbreak, job insecurity, and the everyday things that everybody goes through. I have written my way through natural disasters, cross country trips and camping, illnesses and the discovery of who I think I might be. I write in longhand mostly or print. I choose not to use a computer because then it is so easy to hit the delete key and erase what you're truly saying! Besides that, I took some handwriting courses so I can look back at old entries and see what my thoughts really were and where my head really was at. Very enlightening!
I am looking forward to hearing from others.
Ginger
Replies to "I wrote my first poem when I was 5 years old. It was a fascinating discovery..."
I thought you might enjoy this:
Poetry readings from the Dodge Poetry Festival (the largest poetry festival in North America).
Had had poet laureates, Beat Poets, more...
https://www.youtube.com/@grdodgepoetry
I write every day and I keep a journal to record events, thoughts, and ideas. I don't always read what I write and I write longhand. I took some writing classes and they helped me to learn how to journal. I also keep a blog but it's not public. I feel that writing is more permanent and it helps me when I don't want to carry negative thoughts with me during the day.
Lou
@gingerw there's a lot to be said for putting pen to paper because just the action of that helps you become present in the moment- it's very calming to focus your mind on only what your hands are doing - so its very therapeutic on many levels- and having to sit in what your feeling and process any troubling emotions in a way that you can convey into words and letting them out - its got to be so beneficial for our emotional well being.. and recording little details that would've been lost in time and forgotten- what a joy for a distant family member in generations to come to connect with you because they get passed down their great great grandparents journals.. like a time machine fir them to step into and come back to get to know you
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Ginger: You're post made me smile. I never really thought about my rhymes as journaling? I got started at 65 to come up with something "no one knew I did". I'm such an open "mouth" book, I didn't have any secrets. ;o) In the 12 years that followed, I wrote about the neighbors garage sale, 2 small bears on a walk with their mom, how much I dislike traveling, road kill stew, and etc. etc.
The list would go on for about 300 silly rhymes. I published some, so when I'm gone, my kids will be rich. Many poets don't become famous until they pass. :o) I would tell anyone that journals or writes anything, put it somewhere safe. Your family may not show much interest right now but "some day" one of them will wonder: "What ever happened to that pile of (?) writings? oldbuck