Public Diary
I realized the other day that I probably will never write in a physical diary again. I was pondering The Diary of Anne Frank after it came up in a rousing game of TabooTM, and wondered what would make it to my posthumous diary. Then I realized that even if I found my childhood diary, I haven't written in it in years, and I don't really have the urge to do so today, despite frequent postings to my blog. Then I realized this is my diary--in the future, will someone bind all these with my paper diary, and a journal of poems I have somewhere too, and publish it all in 20 languages?
Then I started thinking about the concept of a public diary. Do I write different things here from what I would write in a private, paper, diary? I think so, or maybe it's an age issue. I used to write a lot about events that happened to me on a daily basis, as well as my own feelings and reactions to those events. One of the most common topics in my childhood diary would be considered interpersonal relationships. For example, if M*** takes my candy at lunch, does that mean she's my friend? Did A*** notice it when my hand touched his while playing Spit on Bus 7?
Now my life seems less complicated. I am more bold than I once was, and so such issues are no longer issues. I asked T*** out on our first date (and yeah, I'm still proud of it, he's quite the catch). I didn't trust J*** while going climbing with him, so I told him, and then stopped climbing with him when he didn't improve. Those things that used to be so crucial to me are now not.
Today's issues are ... different. I'm not sure how to describe them. Some postings (journal entries) are about politics or current events. News Unfit is specifically an outlet for my humor on the news (and the shitty reporting of it at times). Perhaps a number of my posts are meta-posts--discussing the nature of posting. Hm, maybe I could theme a new blog around that... I don't think so.
Update: Oh wait, this IS that new blog!
Then I started thinking about the concept of a public diary. Do I write different things here from what I would write in a private, paper, diary? I think so, or maybe it's an age issue. I used to write a lot about events that happened to me on a daily basis, as well as my own feelings and reactions to those events. One of the most common topics in my childhood diary would be considered interpersonal relationships. For example, if M*** takes my candy at lunch, does that mean she's my friend? Did A*** notice it when my hand touched his while playing Spit on Bus 7?
Now my life seems less complicated. I am more bold than I once was, and so such issues are no longer issues. I asked T*** out on our first date (and yeah, I'm still proud of it, he's quite the catch). I didn't trust J*** while going climbing with him, so I told him, and then stopped climbing with him when he didn't improve. Those things that used to be so crucial to me are now not.
Today's issues are ... different. I'm not sure how to describe them. Some postings (journal entries) are about politics or current events. News Unfit is specifically an outlet for my humor on the news (and the shitty reporting of it at times). Perhaps a number of my posts are meta-posts--discussing the nature of posting. Hm, maybe I could theme a new blog around that... I don't think so.
Update: Oh wait, this IS that new blog!
posted by zandperl @ 12:53 PM
2 Comments:
At 12:30 AM, June 07, 2005,
Mandina said…
I love physical diaries. I love all my diaries I wrote in as a child. I prefer physical diaries. I think they show a lot more character and you can put your keepsakes (ticket stubs, etc) in them. But I feel the same way you do and don't have the urge to physically write, however I love blogging. Perhaps we are becoming lazier or perhaps we do want to share our lives with the public?
At 9:01 AM, June 07, 2005,
zandperl said…
I like the point of keepsakes in a physical diary, viva. I used to make photoalbums/scrapbooks after going on a vacation, but now I use a digital camera instead of a film camera, so I am less inclined to do so, and all my ticket stubs end up piling up somewhere in my apartment. I should get them printed by Snapfish or something next time.
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