Longing for the Sea

one medium suitcase

If I were to leave my home forever and never return, I know for sure what I would want to bring: my journals.

I have spent the past three years documenting my life in the pages of various journals. I write every few days and talk about what I'm feeling, doing, or thinking about. It's a way to remember who I am now, reflect on who I was in the past, and ponder about who I will be in the future.

In each journal, I take a piece of my personality, who I was while writing it, and pour it onto paper. I'm so proud of everything I write (even my sixth grade journal that was very immature and cheesy), and it's a way to improve my writing skills overall. It's a healthy way to work through my feelings and not only get over the past, but work through the difficult times I have once faced.

Journaling is something that I would recommend to everyone. Of course not everyone loves to write, but it's important to document events and fun things you do. One day when you're old and don't remember what it was like to be fifteen, you can get a glimpse of what it was like by reading your journals.

If I were to lose my memory, these journals would provide comfort and fill me in on big things I should know. Of course I'm never able to write down everything that happens, but I'm able to write as much as I can.

Those journals include photographs and little doodles I created from time to time. If I were to leave home and never come back, all the memories I would desire to keep and remember would be in the pages of those journals. Everything else I own is replaceable. I can always buy new books, new electronics, new everything, but nothing can replace the journals I spent hours filling up with memories and the thoughts that keep me awake at night.

Journaling is something I hope to do forever. When I'm old and have children, I hope to share my journals with them because of the lessons and advice they hold. And maybe far, far into the future, a distant relative of mine will inherit my writing and learn a thing or two about what it was like to grow up in the early 21st century.