Last week, I was at my father’s house. As it happens, I usually discover something or the other that makes me go “aaawww”, usually from some part of my childhood.
This time, it was something that led me down a road of reflection: a diary from 1994! It’s only recently that a journal and a diary are differentiated—for the longest time, we fought over the few diaries that Appa would get from his office and other acquaintances, to write our hearts out.
1994 was when I wrote my Class 12 exams and the first time I made money for writing, as a reporter for Mylapore Times! There were stories of weddings, new friends and old, the new job, disappointments and crises.
A serendipitous discovery of an old diary/journal!
Through it all, I realized two things:
- I was not as eloquent as I thought I was … and
- Reflection is critical to evolving
I also realized that the traditional diary, with dates printed on them made no sense, because some days, I had lots to say, so much that it overflowed into two or three “dates” and there were times when I had nothing to say!
Had to change the day of each of the dates, because this was an old diary!
Even if the specifics of the happenings had long been forgotten, reading the journal was a great experience. It made me see how far I had come not just in understanding the world around me, but also in writing.
It was an amazing trip down memory lane, and buoyed by this experience, I started a journal for 2023!
Hope you have an amazing year, and if you’re looking for a journal that’s gentle on the earth, look up our selection of handmade paper journals here— they’re at 10% off for a limited time! It also helps communities in need, and many of them feature traditional Indian handicrafts, so there’s a double positive right there!
Did you know that most handmade paper is made from cotton cloth waste from factories? I did not know that, before the Club Artizen journey!