A Year Of Journals
January 7th, 2008 @ 10:28 am by Mrs. Jasmine
When I was home in Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, I rediscovered my four journals from high school. Covered in hideous floral tapestry, they contain a lifetime’s worth of amusement and hilarity. I spent an afternoon reading them and I could not stop laughing. Ooh the drama– high school crushes, dates for dances, college applications, arguments with girlfriends. It was so amusing to read and it’s awesome to have written proof of what a silly kook I was in high school 
I fell off the journal bandwagon in college, which I sorely regret. I wish I could relive all my college and law school adventures– especially my feelings when I met Mr. Jasmine for the first time. So I’m definitely going to start journaling again. It’s a healthy, therapeutic exercise (great way to “say” things before you actually say them) and it makes for a great keepsake.
So when I came across the year of journals from Red Envelope, I was in love:
Twelve brightly-hued journals, bound in exquisite Thai silk, and enclosed in a black silk display case. This would be such an adorable gift for a friend who just got engaged (maybe one journal for each month of her engagement) or a friend who just got married (one journal for each month of that first year of marriage). Or maybe even just for yourself: it’s wonderful to document such an important time in our lives. Why wait?Do any of you keep a regular journal/diary?
image courtesy of red envelope
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11 Responses to “A Year Of Journals”
I never kept a journal - but I do have notebooks of notes my best girl friend and I traded back and forth in high school! It makes me laugh There’s all kinds of nicknames in there - I don’t even remember who we were talking about!! Part of me thinks it’s just junk I don’t need to keep - but I haven’t been able to part with them yet! (I always win with the argument - if it’s organized junk - I can keep it!)
While Christmas shopping at Barnes & Noble this Christmas I picked up a beautiful leather bound journal for my hubby and I to use as a travel journal. Neither of us are disciplined enough to journal daily - but I really like the idea of remembering all the trips we take together! I only wish I’d thought of it before our honeymoon! Oh well We’ve only missed two trips so far. Maybe I’ll just make a note of when and where they happened on the first page - then take it from there with our next trip that starts this FRIDAY!! Mickey & Minnie - here we come
The hardest part will be remembering to pack it!
What a wonderful suggestion! I’ve been more into the blogging “journal” aspect of writing as of late and never did well with writing journals growing up.
However, with great change in my life (and yours!) coming up, what a great way to archive your thoughts for the first year of marriage!
Thanks for the link!
I read my old journals to my guy and we had a great laugh. Makes me wish I would have written more!
I have a current journal that I keep in my bedside table, but haven’t written in since the early days when I was first dating my husband. So its been over 2 years!
I blog daily, though, except for on weekends (unless something pops up and makes me want to blog), so that covers the journaling I like to do these days. I’m trying to pull a book together from it all…
I kept journals starting in middle school, going all the way through my last year of law school! (though I stopped mid-way through for a number of reasons… as in, we had a house fire and my journal got soaked through, resulting in wrinkly pages… plus I had just moved in with my then-fiance, and it’s harder to find time to write)
It’s so much fun to go through the old journals and read about my daily life. Embarassing at times, but fun.
I also just came across two plastic baggies full of notes from my friends my freshman year of high school. God, we were shallow… 
Over the weekend I found a journal in the clearance bin at a bookstore with “What’s wrong with wanting to be married?” on the cover. I thought “Oh, that’d be so cute as a planning journal!” Then I wondered if there was a market in planning journals…and then I realized that’s not who they intended it for. They intended it for high school girls. And that kind of scares me.
These are gorgeous journals and are dying to be written in!
I used to keep journals regularly, then I stopped a few years ago when I got into grad school and got busier. I recently found my dusty journals from junior high to the immediate years after college, and I poured over them for hours. I found them to be funny, ridiculous…and painful. I realized that I could not relate to this insecure and immature person, and I felt that I wanted to move on with a new chapter in my life. So I tossed them. I don’t regret documenting it all though. Looking through them showed me how much I have grown. This is my own personal feelings about my journals, so I don’t discourage anyone in throwing theirs away! It would be nice to start journaling again when I can find the time..maybe after wedding planning is over! I wonder how I will feel, in 10 years, when I am reading about who I am today. Will I see myself negatively? NAH!
Oooh those are beautiful! My problem with pretty journals? I can’t bear to use them! It’s sick I know… I want to stash them away and save them for a “good use” or as gifts. I’ve kept a journal on and off for years, but blogging in between helps fill journal gaps. Great find, Miss Jasmine!
I agree, those are far too pretty to write in! I kept journals in high school/middle school and i love looking through them but they are all in battered one-subject notebooks - I never wrote in the nice journals that people actually gave me!!
Sporadically, and everytime I go back and reread, it’s either comedy or tragedy. I’m a terrible journal-keeper. But those books are lovely, for sure. And I want that rubber band ball.
Mrs. Jasmine, Chicago/LA
Age and Occupation: 25, Attorney
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Attorney
Engagement Date: March 24, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: September 20, 2007
Venue: Hotel on the westside of Los Angeles
About Me: I'm a happy-go-lucky, imaginative spirit trapped in the body of a lawyer. I love reading, shopping, dining out, and exploring my beloved adopted city of Chicago with my fiance. We're planning the wedding of our dreams in my hometown of Los Angeles and we're excited to incorporate our cherished Indian/Pakistani customs and traditions.
Ohh those are gorgeous!
Thanks for reminding me of my own stack of journals from high school! My mom used to “make” me write in a journal everyday to improve my writing skills, but those entries usually included very mundane topics (Today was so boring. I had a tuna sandwich for lunch…). And then I also kept a diary for my deepest, darkest secrets and all the boy-angst. Must dig those out!!