Meet my Memoirs
Image Courtesy: Instagram
From the moment that I wake up to the moment that I fall asleep each night, my head is busy with all kinds of crap. As a Leo moon, perhaps my narcissistic tendencies lead me to self-examine and reflect more than I should. To mitigate my obsession with documentation and to fuel a future memoir if I ever get the chance, four (4!) journals bear the brunt of my emotional stream of consciousness each day. They vary in appearance: two of them are on the Notes app on my phone, and two of them are simple paper journals to sit by my bed and await my entries when I find an opportunity. It might be just a few minutes at night or a longer, more reflective time, but whenever I am able, getting a pen in my hand is so meditative for me. Without further ado, here are their introductions and a few of my “laws” for how to start journaling (and keep journaling). I swear by them:
The Old-Fashioned Diary
We all benefit from the simplicity and quietness of writing down our daily thoughts, feelings and experiences. The deeply human act of recording our mundane lives has led to some incredible gifts in history, and I don’t know a single person who has ever regretted keeping a diary. Now, this isn’t my favorite form of journaling; we often can’t keep up with a daily record of what we do each day. But keeping a basic diary is a pretty cool way to preserve what life is like. My fourth grade diary is one of my most prized possessions. My 10-year-old self was PETTY, and I am so glad that I have the sparkly, pink notebook in the depths of my desk at home to revisit years later.
The Shit List/Burn Book/Trash Can
Alright, take notes here. My biggest and MOST consistent journal is a locked note on my computer, but it has a counterpart at home in about the ugliest notebook that I could find. My big rule is that ugly thoughts deserve an ugly notebook. My shit list is a 5-year-old file on my computer that holds everything: homecoming drama, teen crushes that I hated, first kiss horror stories, tears, drama, rants, poems about annoying people, lists of pros and cons and a whole lot of other stuff that I would regret sharing on the internet.
This one is by far my favorite journal. It is so incredibly cathartic to release the ugliness that rattles inside of my head into a void that has no judgment—whether online or in an ugly nightstand notebook. My other rule for the shit list is to lock it up. Mine is password protected because, again, the world should probably never have access to five years of rants from yours truly.
Silly Little Thoughts
We are entitled to write. To create. Especially, I believe, we are entitled to put every silly little thought in our heads onto paper, just for the sake of the process. My third journal is titled as such because it is a physical notebook where I throw little poems about my life, my love and my longing. I doodle, express myself and don’t put too much pressure onto what I create, since they are truly Silly Little Thoughts. Since they are not the rants and daily drudge, I put my silly little thoughts in a cute, simple notebook. I never have to share it with anyone, but the process of writing little haikus, little verses and silly little expressions about the curiosities and ironies of life as a 20-year-old is truly healing.
I am Grateful for…
I have had a one-line-a-day journal in the past, and in 2020, I kept up with one consistently, every single day, for months, until the bore of quarantine forced me to stop repeating my “highlight of the day” out of necessity. This year, though, one of my philosophy classes inspired me to revive it. Each day at 10:10 P.M., I get a notification reminding me to add just one little line to a Notes page on my iPhone. It is so simple, but I can look back on each day to see what made me smile, remember what I was grateful for, and come to know exactly what that day meant to me. If you are going to start ANY journal, I recommend starting this one.
I hope that my chaos of having four diaries proves to you how doable writing is. It is such a gift to unleash the torment of life onto paper, and even if my usual notebooks are out of reach, the old pages of my daily planner sometimes have to do. Regardless, our thoughts deserve to be recorded. You never know what life will throw at you, and it is rather convenient to have your memoir content at the ready. Maybe you’ll even publish it someday.
Happy journaling!
Strike Out,
Writer: Maddie Schlehuber
Editors: Kimani Krienke, Natalie Daskal
Writing Director: David Kramer
Blog Director: Helenna Xu
Notre Dame
