Like my father before me, I am not very good at labeling the pictures that I take. One of the reasons, in recent years, has been that I haven't known what to use to label them. I used to just use ball-point pen, but then I learned that the ink used in those pens is really acidic, so I stopped doing that. Then I tried using my beloved ZIG Millennium pens, but they took way too long to dry on the slick surface. Finally, I found these Slick Writer pens that are perfect for writing on photographs-- they dry super-fast and are acid-free. I've already used one up writing on pictures I was sending away to family members. Then I bought a package of 3 and set a goal to label all 20+ years of photos I have taken. This doesn't even include all the family photos and slides [covering at least 25+ more years] that my Mom gave me to organize.
Is it just me, or does that sound like an overwhelming task? I kept putting it off when I think of how long it would take. Finally, this Sunday, I began the monumental task, starting with photos from 1986 (I was 9 then). So far I've gotten to December 1997, which sounds better than it is, considering I've taken probably twice as many photos in the subsequent 10+ years. Anyway, in order to figure out when certain photos were taken, I have pulled out my old diaries/journals and desk calendars to piece dates and events together. This has been both amusing and sorta depressing as I read what a boy-crazy, emotional, sad sack I was. On the one hand, it's really interesting to see what I thought was soooooo important then. On the other hand, I find huge gaps and wonder why I didn't write about better things, such as my baptism or more about my family. I also tended to write a lot when I was angry, which is embarrassing now. I pretty much quit journaling by 2001, so there's no record of my courtship and marriage, etc. which is pretty sad. Luckily, I did keep up the calendars, at least.
So I thought I'd share an excerpt from an entry in my first diary, dated January 12, 1990, to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Try not to laugh too hard!
"...I didn't see Chad. But I have been thinking A LOT about him. I wish I weren't though, 'cuz if I end up liking him, it'll probably blow up in my face. How come none of the guys I end up liking NEVER like me? IT'S NOT FAIR!! None of the decent guys ever like me. It's always the dweebs, or midgets or fatsos, or dummies or .... just no one I ever like !! Just once I'd like to find a guy. I know I'm not even 13 yet, but who knows how long I'll live. I may never even reach 13 for all that matter!!
"Well, anyway, I'm tired of writing about this depressing crap and 'Just the 10 of Us' is on. Bye!! Rachael"
Don't you just love the drama and desperation of a 12-year-old girl? Boy howdy!!! Unfortunately, some of my entries from college are just as dramatic-- although, at least I became more accepting of other people and stopped giving them such cruel and harsh labels. And I still like to overuse those exclamation points!!!!!
Do you have any equally horrifying diary entries from your youth? It might make me feel better to hear about them!! :)
2 comments:
A sister from Nauvoo spoke at a recent Sacrament Meeting about 'keeping family histories,' and she mentioned how -- as a young woman -- she was dedicated to keeping journals, figuring she'd want to share the info with her kids someday. However, by the time she was old enough to have kids interested in her 'records,' she went back and discovered that she had written almost every entry when she was sad or angry or upset. As a result, she said she decided to NOT share what she had written. I mention this in case your nieces are journaling -- so they don't fill up books with ALL unhappy stuff. That would sorta tie in with Oprah's 'gratitude journals,' and would (a) help to preserve happy memories while (b) perhaps helping the girls to stop and realize how truly blessed they are.
Love you!
Hahaha:) I love the journal excerpt! The dramatic tone sounds all too familiar. Aren't we girls just oh-so-dramatic sometimes. I noticed a similar negative trend in my journals when I was younger and realized if I was doing this for posterity I better change my tone. So I did, but I do have a notebook that I use to get my rants out. After I have written my frustrations out, I let it sit awhile, read over it once later when I am much more level-headed and promptly proceed to dispose of it. Sometimes you just need to vent a little:)
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