Week 2: The Collection of Written Feelings

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       There's something about being able to pick up a pen and write all of your thoughts and feelings that have been swarming through your mind, down on a sheet of paper. There's no judgement, there's no outside opinions being shot at you, you are in your own peace of mind. Whether it's on a napkin or a small space on the back of an old envelope, I write down any sort of inspiration that comes to my mind. I allow myself to just write, without questioning if the punctuation is correct, or if someone else would read it and understand my thoughts. I was never one to keep a diary, but I often kept a notebook filled with letters that I would write to people. Whether they were to my boyfriend, or a family member who had recently passed, I found it therapeutic to write a letter that is addressed to people, with things I never had the courage to say or never gotten the opportunity to.
           I do not mind writing online. I find it nice to be able to write to an audience who may or may not read my work, but as far as my personal thoughts that are extremely close to my heart, I do not know if I feel the need to post that publicly. I feel like it would be easier to lose your own personal voice, I feel as if I would want to write in a way that the audience would desire, rather than I would. Some times when we feel ourselves in a tough situation, or we wonder if someone else has gone through the rough patch that we are, we seek an outlet that reveals someone can actually relate to what is going on. I think people read other individual's journals because it helps them cope with their own problems. I also think some people like to read insights on another person's life.
          I believe most diary writers write in a stream of consciousness when posting their entries online. I think that instead of having the personal freedom of having a diary that no one reads, they have to consider another reader's point of view. I think even though this may be true, they can still learn from their entries. Although, I think more growth would come internally if they did not share these entries. Name dropping, organization titles, and other "classified information" should be taken into consideration when an individual is including that into their entries online. I think it would be better if they excluded them, but if someone is keeping the diary to themselves, in a safe place, then it should not matter as much if that information is included. Writing in a journal can be a very therapeutic process and I think that the pros and cons of posting entries online should be taken into consideration. I will keep my entries to myself and continue to learn from my collection of written feelings.