The Book of Me, Prompt #6: Journals and Diaries

I do not keep a journal or diary, and really never have for any extended period of time.  When I was a kid/teenager, the thought of writing for "fun" was a complete turn-off.  (My 10th grade English teacher made us write a journal entry every day in class and I dreaded it every day.)  I did a little journaling in a sketch book for a few months in my early 20s when I had just started graduate school.  It was dark stuff, though; like, I'm-so-depressed-I-want-to-kill-myself dark.  I don't know if I've kept that book, or if I've tossed it out during one of my many moves.  Not really sure I would want anyone reading it, anyway.

My way of chronicling my life has always been photography.  Even as a pre-teen, I remember just loving to take photos of my family members.  I tease my younger sister that there wouldn't have been too many baby/toddler photos of her if it weren't for my picture-taking.  When we would go on vacation, I would take the typical 'tourist' photos of interesting sites or buildings.  

When I had finally finished college and graduate school, I started making scrapbooks of my old photos. I made one of my trip to Europe I took when I was 18.  I made three books with photos from my college and graduate schools days.  I didn't have the patience or creativity to really get into scrapbooking like some people do, but it did make my photos more presentable that just being in a plain old photo album.  I also went back to my parents' house and made a Christmas with the Kowalski's scrapbook, using family Christmas photos from the past 30 years or so.  For my younger brother's college graduation, I gave him a scrapbook that I made using photos from his babyhood all the way up through high school graduation.  I intended to do this for my other three siblings, as well, but I then I had my first baby and extra time was not on my side.  Now that all of my photos are digital, I use online scrapbooking services like Shutterfly to make memory books.  It's actually more cost-efficient and there is less craft mess!

A few of my many 'old school' scrapbooks.

I enjoy going back through my old photos and thinking about how my picture-taking has developed and grown, which I know some people do with written journals, too.  I've never taken any sort of photography class, so my own style has developed 'organically,' if you will.  When I was younger, the photos I would take while traveling would be of important structures - museums, churches, landmarks - and myself standing in front of them.  Now, when I travel, I find that I enjoy trying to capture more of the place's culture and environment.  I take more photos of local people, street signs, local plants, and smaller architectural features like unique doors and windows.  I also try to save receipts, maps, ticket stubs, fliers, and restaurant business cards from our travels.  I glue them into my scrapbooks, and, when I go back and look at the books years later, I am amazed at how much those little pieces of memorabilia help me remember the trip better.

A couple of examples of the types of photos I LOVE at this point in my life:  I went on a month-long whirlwind tour of Europe (seven countries) after I graduated from high school.  Most of my photos from that trip are of the buildings and museums and churches - typical tourist photos.  Our last stop was Amsterdam and we were only spending about 24 hours there.  I remember trying to use up the rest of the film in my camera and I took this photo.  Today, this is one of my favorite photos from Amsterdam and from my entire trip. (I've fiddled around with editing the colors a bit here.)  Just so unique to Amsterdam and it tells you so much about the city.

Bicycles in Amsterdam

Last year, my husband and I took a trip to Boston.  We were walking around Cambridge and saw a few teenagers carrying lacrosse poles.  A common sight, yes, for those in the Northeast U.S, but we never see anything like this in Indiana.  They probably thought I was crazy, but who cares!

Lacrosse players in Cambridge, MA

I now also like photos that tell a story.  As a mom, I find myself taking photos of my kids' messes, or even of them when they are mad and/or crying. (Don't worry, I always follow it up with lots of comforting cuddles!)   If my son is deep in thought while trying to build a Lego creation, I'll snap a photo.  When we go out to eat, especially if it is someplace unique and/or special, I take photos of our food and drinks.

My shrimp creole lunch from a cafe in New Orleans.

So, as to whether or not all my photography and scrapbooking counts as a journal, I'm not sure.  Hopefully, my descendants will look at the photos I've taken at different points in my life and, not only have a record, so to speak, of my daily activities, but also be able to deduce my personality and priorities from those photos.  I now have two blogs, so I've definitely been doing more writing about myself and my life over the past couple of years, but I have no doubt that my primary form of documenting my and my family's lives will remain photography. My kids had better buy some 'cloud' space, because they're gonna need it once mama passes on!