Cynthia,
Thank you for letting me know about the survey! I am certainly interested in answering the questions. Here you go, feel free to post all or part of it as you wish:
When did you begin your diary and why?
I started keeping a diary in May 1997 (I think. It may have been ’98…my older diaries are at my parent’s house, so I can’t check!) when I was eight years old. I’m not sure why I did, I only know that a purchased a small notebook with my allowance at the grocery store and started writing in it that same day.
Did you know back then that you would be doing this for a long time?
I don’t think I had any idea, although I don’t remember my thoughts clearly from the time!
Why do you keep on writing? Do you think you will ever stop?
I keep writing because it keeps me sane, helps me sort out my thoughts and because I have an inexplicable fear of forgetting all the little moments that make up my life.
Has anyone else in your family kept a diary?
My father has kept one for many years; I’m not sure about anyone else in my family.
What is your current occupation? Past occupations?
I am currently a certified nursing assistant and a nursing student.
What do you write about and has that changed over the years?
I write about my day to day life, thoughts, things I do, books I read, places I go, people I see. Mostly it’s factual, the weather, my goings on, but I do work in thoughts and even spiritual “quests.”
Who do you write about?
I write about anyone whose paths cross mine. In my line of work, there are a lot of privacy concerns so I refer to patients of mine vaguely without medical specifics and only by their initials or by pseudonyms, to avoid betraying their privacy.
Do you record nature? Colors, sound, tastes, tactile sensations?
Occasionally, usually with regard to the weather, but not often.
Do you record intimate details of relationships or sexual experiences?
Sexual experiences, no, but relationships, yes. Call me a prude, but I don’t much like to talk about sex, let alone write about it!
Do you write about coincidences/synchronicities, “miracles,” mysteries, dreams?
Yes, often. Whenever they seem significant.
Does your diary have a theme, i.e. your religious or spiritual growth, your development as a dancer or musician?
Nope. Just a record of my life!
Was it to record a military experience, parenting, or some other important time in your life?
Nope! I don’t remember what made me start writing in it!
Do you use your diary creatively to record ideas for future writing or sketches for art projects?
Not usually. I am a writer but I usually brainstorm elsewhere.
Do you include more than writing, such as photos, sketches, clippings, etc.?
Occasionally I include paper things that I want to save and sometimes I have put photos in, but usually I don’t.
Describe what form your journal is in: bound book (large or small), notebook, on the computer
It’s currently in a bound book, although I’m on volume fifteen so I have used a wide variety of books, mostly ones designed to be journals.
Is your journal handwritten or typed? Pencil or pen?
It’s handwritten, all of it, and most of it is in pen, although there are a few portions in the very first volume that are in pencil.
What do you enjoy writing about the most?
I enjoy writing about almost anything. I’m not sure there is one thing that I enjoy more than others.
Have you ever neglected to write about important historical events that happened?
I don’t think so. In fact, on 9/11 I was twelve years old and one of the first things I did was write about it in my journal, which is one of the more interesting entries that I think I have.
Do you always tell the truth?
Yes, but I sometimes omit things that I’m not ready to talk about, although I sometimes come back to those later. But I’ve never written anything that is not true, I don’t think.
Are you embarrassed about anything you wrote about? Have you torn out pages?
When I was a younger, I would often write about boys I had crushes on, and then later get embaressed. There was one page that I wrote a big X through when I was about ten, but it’s still legible. But I’ve never torn any pages out, and I’m not embaressed about them now!
What is the tone of your writing – social, psychological, philosophical, historical?
I think it’s pretty social, like a conversation, although I keep it organized, with a new paragraph for each topic and proper grammar and punctuation (although my spelling leaves something to be desired!)
Has this changed over the years?
Actually, no. Obviously the tone when I was a child was more like a child, but the way I’ve written and the things I’ve written about are pretty much the same as they’ve always been.
Is your style flowery, poetic, elliptical, cut and dried, verbose, descriptive?
My style is pretty cut and dry I think, althoug I do tend to use a lot of words to describe events!
Are you obsessive about writing every day or about recording certain details?
I have certainly gone through phases where I was obsessive about writing every day and there have been times when I’ve been stressed out and I couldn’t wait to get home and write in my journal because I knew it would help.
Have you had breaks in your writing and, if so, for how long?
There have been two or three times when I haven’t written for six months or a year, but mostly I don’t miss more than a week or two, and I often write every day
What time/place do you like to write? Does that change?
I generally write in the mornings and sometimes in the evenings, but it changes often. I write whenever I get a chance and have something to say!
What is the most surprising thing you learned about yourself?
Hmmm. I went through a sort of “spiritual quest” a couple years back and wrote about it extensively in my journal and I learned a lot about myself through that process, plus it represented a change in the things I wrote about because prior to that I had rarely written about feelings (other than my romantic feelings…my early journals are filled with various boys I liked!).
Has keeping a journal changed you? How?
I do think it’s changed me a little. I noticed once a while ago that all the best decisions I have made in my life have come from times when I was actively journaling about the decision. It helps me objectively evaluate how I feel and what the pros and cons are of the decision.
Do you like to re-read your journal?
I do, although I’ve only read them through from start to finish once or twice. There’s a lot there to read these days!
Do you have favorite entries?
I have a couple of entries where I mentioned things in an off-hand way that would later turn out to be important and I didn’t realize it at the time, so those are sort of fun to read later!
Was there anything you did not record which you wished you had?
There were a few times where I went a couple of months or more without writing and I read back through and wish I had written, because I don’t really remember what was going on during that time and it makes me sad. Also, when I first started falling in love with my now-husband, I was dating someone else at the time and I felt guilty so I didn’t write about how I felt, which, looking back, I wish I had!
Who would you allow to read it?
I don’t allow anyone to read it now, but if I were dead, I don’t think I’d mind!
Who should not read it?
I don’t think theres anyone who should not read it if I were dead, but for now, I absolutely do not allow anyone to read it!
Would you make it public some day? Would you want it burned when you die, or preserved in an archive, or kept in your family?
I absolutely want it to be preserved when I die, both for my family and for historians or anyone else who might be interested in it!
Do you enjoy reading published diaries of other people?
I love to read published diaries, especially those by “regular” people who wrote about day to day things.
Do you collect diaries?
I don’t currently, but someday when I have more money I might!
Not much, except that I think a National Diary Archieve is a great idea and is something that needs to be done! One of my greatest fears is that something will happen to my journals and they will be lost forever, so something like this is great!
This is a photo of my diary collection. My own diaries take up three and a half shelves on the left. Had I written continuously with no breaks, this collection would be enormous. The first one I saved was 1964. I recently began diary #81. When I wrote my first diary I never expected it to be a lifelong passion. Never thought about that at all.
National Diary Archive 