Reading Diaries
Thoughts
Starting at age 11, I wrote in my diary every single day. So much so that my friends would make fun of me. To top it off, I was a very private person and shared my feelings with no one, which made these diaries even more precious. My friends would tease about having read them and I'd fly off the handle, as they wanted me to.
The greatest thing about having written years of diaries is that I can now go back and read them all. Amidst the childish blabber, I find some gems.
During the last years of high school and in the beginning of college, I used to ask people to write me letters. Handwritten ones. As much as they whined about it, I have all these amazing letters now. Trust me when I say that they are much more precious than email. I had this theory (which I still believe in) that people feel more comfortable writing things down as opposed to vocalizing them. Somehow when we write them down, things become easier to say. We can talk about our feelings and our disappointments, etc.
When you write things down, you don't have to worry about the opposite party's reaction. You don't have to worry about their disappointment, lack of excitement, disapproval, anger, bewilderment or anything else. You just pour things out, writing to a faceless entity. I've found that this process makes people more honest, more open and more at ease. Don't believe me? Give it a try!
Before?
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