Meaningless Meanderings

Journal Writing

We write them each day, often as a force of habit. A small piece of our lives, now resting upon a page as a standing record of our view for the day. We write in hopes of looking back and learning from our experiences, or perhaps someone will find them long after our demise and publish our works to tell our tails. But there is something more, an underlying idea that is often ignored which represents the “truth” of a journal: the signs of “evolution.”

The word “evolution” is, of course, used loosely. The concept of a change over time, caused by internal or external forces, is what is invoked when I hear the term. Accept this as the definition within the concept of this work.

For those who write journals, and have the bravery to look back upon their older writings, they would realize what I mean. For those who fear looking back, there is still hope in your understanding, because you are witnessing a form of evolution by reading this. This “blog,” a small task that I perform each week, is a sample of this idea of evolution.

My earlier posts were the epitome of the title “Meaningless Meanderings.” They emphasized ideas I had on a whim, were written on the spot and edited without changing the ideas within. The earlier posts were akin to the early stages of life; they were a way of testing the waters and building a foundation for my later works to stand upon. They are like children, starting as something with potential and slowly grow into something more, something with a form all its own.

These old posts show who I was in the past, and the changes within them can be seen as reflections within myself. The shift in topics, in tone, and overall style show change in my thought processes. For good or for ill, I have changed in the past few months, and my writing is the way of showing this.

Maybe we all write journals for different reasons. Some of us will go home at the end of the day and write about our horrible day so we can always remember why we have grown to hate that dastardly John or the cute things that make us adore our dear Jane, while others will write only to remind themselves as to who they are in the now for the sole purpose of comparing themselves to the person they will become in the future.

So, where do you stand? Why do you write your journal?