You Don't Want to Read My Journal, Not for the Reason You Think

My girlfriends laughed when they wondered out loud if I wrote about them in my journal.

Journals conjure up images of teenage girls' diaries under lock and key.

Of course, they were curious. They saw me writing each morning of our getaway trip. What juicy details were included in my daily writings? Until then, I hadn’t thought about the privacy of my journal. When I travel, others see me writing. I leave it out at home.

I’m not worried about others getting a peak inside my journal. Reading it would probably bore them. 

I journal about me. I write my gratitude, my emotions, my thoughts. I write about what I control. Which means you’ll rarely see someone else’s name in my journal. Writing about others would be in gratitude or a descriptor. Sometimes I record an event.

My friends don’t know this because they don’t journal. 

Journaling is personal. Some journalers might want to keep their writing private. Their inner thoughts are for no one else to see. Maybe they write about others. My writing would not reveal dark thoughts or secrets. 

I’m the only one who benefits from what I write in my journal. When I die, no one will want to publish it for education or entertainment.

In my journal, I remember, reflect, think, clarify, problem-solve, decide, and plan. My writing is about taking control of the details of my life. Most of my family and friends are not interested in the minute details described in my writing. (They hear enough when I talk.)

My journal wants to know it all.