#6

Last night I finished writing in Journal Number 5
And tonight I will begin writing in Journal Number 6

Its kind of weird for me to think that I've written in 6 journals in the past three years....
Apparently I have alot to write about lol :)

But 6 in three years....basically I go through two Journal books a year. :S

Of course...I wasn't really into writing in my journals when i was younger,
Its another one of those church tasks that I have to get my head around.

When I was younger, I remember having this birthday party...I think it was at Flips Gymnastics...but I ended up getting like five journals that year. XP bleck.
"Useless things." I thought. What would I do with a journal?

It was just one of those gifts you give when you don't know what to give to somebody. 
The first Journal I wrote in....I remember had Winnie the Pooh on its cover, and I only wrote on it long enough to document a vacation to Oregon if I remember correctly, so I could show of my vacation when I got back to school.....
I think those were the only entries those pages had...I don't even know where that one ended up at....

But you could say my 'first first' journal I wrote in, was a fancy Red hard bound journal that had JOURNAL written across the front, and on the sides with my name written in the right hand corner...kind of like scriptures I guess. lol I received it for Achievement Days...I think it might have been a 'graduation' gift...I don't know for sure, but it was for some special activity. 

But the first time I wrote in it was basically my first year of girls camp. And like scripture reading, I only wrote in it for one reason. So i could pass off "First year" stuff and get the reward at the end for completing my requirements (I think it might have just been a certificate...and some small treat.) So I wrote in that journal everyday.....until girls camp was over, then I placed it where it could gather dust until the next girls camp lol. 
Occasionally between girls camps I would bring it out. To summarize stuff I'd done, or something exciting or sad that had happened. 
For 7 years I wrote in that journal. It started with my first year of girls camp, and ended with my last year of girls camp (Because I hadn't turned 18 yet I could go 7 times...yah not sure how that worked out :) lol) 

-Okay....so my first journal covered like 7 years.....the rest though have been in the past three years lol :)

But you can tell how little of my teenage years I put into that journal if it lasted me 7 years lol. I don't think it was more then a hundred pages thick...probably less then that...who knows. 

Yet as my last days of girls camp were finishing up I had a choice in front of me. I could never write in a journal again...or struggle to at least....or I could take the challenge to continue writing in my journal from that day on and know that I wouldn't struggle to write.
lol It was the same basic principle of scripture reading for me. I was graduating from Seminary, I would have no 'outside force' to influence me to read my scriptures the same way Seminary did. So I could let myself fall by the way side and slack off on reading Scriptures like I had done every summer before that, I could continue reading everyday.

Needless to say....I think I took myself up on the challenge lol. Since that summer of 'lasts' I've been diligently recording my thoughts everyday. :) I don't think I've really missed a journal day...or a scripture day....even if I"m not feeling well I try to write "I have a headache, tell you more tomorrow" or read at least one verse of my scriptures before bed. Otherwise I try to write about my day everyday and read a chapter a night. :) lol And you can see that I've gone through with it if I"m already on my 6th journal :)

Back to Journals though,
I think one of the influences that influenced me to start really writing in my journal was.....to make it more personal.
I remember writing in my journal while camping in our trailer at Rockport.
(I was doing it in secret because I didn't want the family to know I was actually writing in my journal.)

But I decided to address my journal....not give it a name specifically, but basically make it seem like I was writing a letter to somebody about what I did that day and how it went. (of course I date it too lol)

I chose to start my Journals out by saying
Dear Danny,

Why did I choose the name Danny?
Well.....he's my First character/plotline/storyline that I came up with (and haven't written down yet.) when i was Jr High age...probably a year or so after my first girls camp.....
He was important to me, and to make sure I don't forget him I write to him each night.

-I tried to start a Dream Diary writing down my dreams by saying "Dear Jake" (second character) but....that didn't work out so well, because I'd have to write in the mornings because most of the time by the time evening came I had forgotten my dream. lol. ;)

But anyway. I started writing to Danny
lollol I gave up after a while....mostly because I didn't know what to say back to myself, or how to have him talk about himself...he's a secretive guy lol :)
But I do know that Danny is a patient reader listening to my thoughts. :)
I often considered (and still consider) him and Jake to be my "Guardian Angels"

(No, They are not Arcis Ankels, its a totally different story line.)

But I think it was just the personal note that I gave my journals that helped me find enjoyment in just writing. most of my journal entries just contain the gist of "what I did today" but sometimes I'd go off on rants, or thoughts about how people had effected me that day. I think it might be a little dry and repetitive at times my Journal, but I think Danny enjoys reading it lol.....even if my handwriting had gotten pretty illegible as the years pass by.

It also helps that I sign my name at the bottom of each entry signalling I'm done with the day lol. :)

Anyhow, through that process and the fact that Girls camp was over, I started writing every single day.
Sometimes I can get three or four entries on a page....if nothing is really happening, other times I can take up pages for just one journal entry.
In either case...I just like writing.....and I hope that if anybody ever reads my journals.......well, I hope they can read them ;) haha. Though,not while I'm around :S that would be embarrassing :S lol. :)

But anyway, since finishing up my first journal I have gone through four other journals during my college years.
And like I said before...this is my third year.....sooo that's alot lol :) They vary in thickness and colors, but one thing that is similar is that they are all hard bound books :) No spiral journal notebook things for me.
You could say my first journal influenced me to have my journals that way, I think its because I could just stick them on a book shelf and they could blend in. :)
I tried at first to have the journals say "journal" on the front like my first one.
(I can be very picky/narrowminded sometimes)
That only lasted three journals though lol :) Number 4 and 5 don't have journal written on the cover, but now number 6 does :)
Sooo
basically
I write in journals, but its basically a book of letters to Danny. :)
Its a weird cohesive combination thing :) lol
-These entries usually are written between the hours of 10pm-3am Why? Well...until I go to sleep its still "Today" in my mind. "Tomorrow" doesn't really start until I wake up again. :) lol So I date my entries as the day I 'woke up' on since I haven't yet gone to sleep...if that made any sense lol :)

But, its just another 'church' idea that I refused to do until I had a chance to figure out how I wanted to do it and be given a reason for not having opportunities to do it for 'rewards' anymore that led me to continue writing everyday. :)
......I admit....I still haven't totally put my mind around the concept of writing in "spiritual thoughts/feelings" whilst scripture reading into a "scripture journal." *shrugs* Why not have it all in the same place? lol. If I think of something I'll write it down...otherwise..I won't force something spiritual out of my reading....I think doing that would......grate on me....and cause me not to like what I"m doing....
*shrugs*
To each their own :)
But I thought I'd just share that with you. :)
Now begins the adventures of Journal Number 6!!! :D

But if you haven't started writing a journal yet......perhaps you can just try writing in your own way, don't follow what other people have said they've done, or what you think you should do for a journal. Just let it flow and write how you wish, you'll be more likely to continue doing something if you like how you're doing it :)

Until you next see these words;
I"ll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi