Need opinion-- would you keep these?

teacherjess · May 2011

We are fully moved into our new house and going back and forth on what to keep and what to toss since we're not planning on ever moving again (EVER!).

I started keeping a daily journal when I was 12 and continued up until I graduated college. I went through about 12 journals total. They were personal and only ever meant to provide me a way to vent, get things off my chest, etc. I never planned on anyone else reading them and so they reflect that. Now here I am, married and with a child, and trying to figure out what to do with them. Part of me wants to get rid of them because they are not the kind of thing I'd ever want to pass along to my child, nor would I want DH or anyone else to read them. But part of me feels like I don't want to throw them out because they are sort of close to my heart and chronicle a long part of my life.

I'd consider maybe locking them up for the time being, but I just really do not want to risk Leah or any of the other children I may have ever running across them or getting to them. Given that, I am thinking it may just be time to part with them, since they are just sitting untouched on a shelf and probably will for any remainder of time.

Any opinions? Such a weird decision to make...

teacherjess · May 2011

I should add that I tended to focus on the drama in my life while I wrote, so they are not particularly enjoyable for me to go back through...it's not that they reflect all the wonderful parts of my life or daily experiences or something. This is why I am thinking I should just toss them...why keep all that drama??? Decisions, decisions....

christyandnate · May 2011

I would personally pitch them. If you think you will in the future, why not just do it now. I also am a big purger, so maybe I am a bit biased. I think you risk them being read the longer they are around. Good luck and congrats on the move.

Missbollinger · May 2011

From someone who journaled also through her teen angst year i would keep them. My reasoning is your children will go through the same as you or similar and it is always helpful to re-read what you wrote to try and help them through their tougher developmental years KWIM? also I hear you on the not wanting the kids to find it but I am sure you can come up with somewhere you can keep them where they can not get to too.

HTH

johnandkristin · May 2011

I would probably just toss them. If you're never going to let anyone read them or even want anyone to read them, then what's the point in keeping it?

I have a journal too from back in the day...I probably will toss it too. Mine's so lame Stick out tongue

kel716 · May 2011

Missbollinger:

From someone who journaled also through her teen angst year i would keep them. My reasoning is your children will go through the same as you or similar and it is always helpful to re-read what you wrote to try and help them through their tougher developmental years KWIM? also I hear you on the not wanting the kids to find it but I am sure you can come up with somewhere you can keep them where they can not get to too.

HTH

I was thinking this too... teenagers don't believe adults until they have 'proof' that you've been there too. Even though you might not want to share, it might help them get through a difficult stage. KWIM?

On the flip side, if you really don't ever want to share, I'd find a shredder or have a bonfire.

GL in your decision.... definitely not an easy one!

Moesten · May 2011

I have an idea - I'll trade yours for mine. :P I have the very same journals and the very same dilemma. I think, though, that I am closer to getting rid of them. They truly are personal and I don't want anyone else reading them. And, God forbid, something happened to me before I was able to discard of them. They're just aren't the legacy and memories I want to leave to those left behind.

gimbal · May 2011

I pitched mine a couple years ago. I have no regrets and doubt I ever will.

jerseygirl81 · May 2011

I have a few years' worth and I'm keeping them. I considered tossing them so many times over the last 10 years, and every time I kept them. They disappeared into storage for a while, but I pulled them out again last year and started reading them, and I'm so glad I kept them.

I would hang on to them, just because you never know when you might want to revisit those times in your life. You might think you remember what it was like to be a teenager, but I can tell you that there is no way that my memory was accurate in terms of how I thought about the world and the events going on in my everyday life.

ryry1977 · May 2011

I also had kept journals through collage and had to make that decision. I ended up destoying them. I didn't want anyone to ready them...ever. I was hard to do, but I am happy that they are gone and that even I can't go back and read them. So I would just get rid of them, after a short while you wont regret it!

Superchicy · May 2011

I had some journals from college I didn't want DH to read if for some reason he would come across them, kind of like yours, lots of drama and whatnot in them. I ended up finally getting rid of them and am glad that I did. They weren't something that would have been enjoyable to read through again, more just to get things out at the time.

teacherjess · May 2011

Hmm, so much to think about. I like the idea of keeping them to help Leah work through issues as a teenager, but they sort of upset me to read about the specific time in the four years of high school, plus I spend all day dealing with other people's teenagers, so...

I think I am going to shred them. Maybe read them one more time as I shred them. God, I feel like I'm about to kill a part of myself, but it's just all drama and not pleasant. Plus, if I die in a random car accident or something and that's all that's left of my memory, I certainly don't want it passed down to anyone...

Ttimes3 · May 2011

Is there any way that you could rip out a few pages (like ones that don't share really personal, painful details), then make a "new" journal of sorts - one that remembers your voice and you wouldn't mind sharing with Leah when the time is right?

RFKD82909 · May 2011

I'm a huge purger but I've never been able to throw my old journals away. I just couldn't do it. I would be mortified if H or anyone else read them but they are a piece of my history so I've kept them. It is a hard decision!

allobosc · May 2011

I'd keep them! I got rid of mine nearly as soon as I wrote them for fear of my mother finding them and I regret it so much. I think it'd help me relate to my students, my kids and more perspective on myself. I called them my 'angry journals' so I get that I was Negative Nancy in them, but it was all real at the time and it is nice to know how good life can turn out after going through so much pain. I've kept the ones I've written since college and really don't mind if they are read when I'm old. Especially my advice to myself as a future MIL, lol. They don't sound like they will take up that much space and who knows what they will mean in the future.

I also have some of my grandmother's writings and grandpa's letters from the war so I like to read that stuff as years have passed.

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