Mari's Journaling Power Blog | Journaling Journeys

Journaling: A Historical Perspective

Of journals, diaries, and notebooks: Which are kept and by whom? Which do you keep, and for whom?

Is your journal for your eyes alone, or do you write it for future generations? You could provide historians down the line with something vital: the perspective of the everyday person in the 21^st century. Way back when I was in school, history was all about memorizing dates, names of generals, and wars. At least, that was the case when I attended primary and secondary school. By the time I got to college, students learned history not only through key figures and events but also through the diaries and letters of ordinary citizens. While we still had to recite dates and generals and their wars, it was quite a relief to read everyday accounts of life against its historical backdrop as someone like us experienced it.