This is the first volume of my diary. I purchased it from a book order form, the kind we used to get on a regular basis in elementary school. My friends and I would pore over them, circling the items we wanted.We got our parents' help filling them out, and we'd turn them in to our teacher with some money. Then our books would be delivered to us in our classroom. The resulting atmosphere was a beautiful blend of Christmas-day enthusiasm, and library-esque wonder. My very first entry in this diary is about receiving my book orders.
I have now typed up all of my 1998 and 1999 entries. Here are some basic stats:
1998:
Total number of entries: 29
Top 5 themes/topics:
- School
- Complaining
- Horses
- Holidays
- Books, toys, and Beanie Babies
Quote of the Year: "And school is terrible. People do dumb things for dumb reasons, too".
This was on Friday, March 13th. I was not pleased with that day.
1999:
Total number of entries: 51
Top 5 themes/topics:
- School
- Pets and Possessions
- Horses
- Holidays
- Traveling
Quote of the Year: "Whooopee!"
My reaction to my parents agreeing to buy me a horse. It is in addition to many entries that included exclamations of "yipee!" "wow!" and "woo-hoo!"
They usually had to do with vacations, field trips, and horses.
Reflections:
In both 1998 and 1999, I talked a lot about decisions. I decided things, or I was trying to decide them, or I couldn't decide them. It's one of the most striking patterns of verb usage in those two years of writing, especially since looking back on my childhood I don't remember deciding much. As an adult, I kind of figure my parents decided most things for me. But as a child, I didn't feel that way. In my diary, I ruled my world and I decided things - even if they were decisions my parents had influenced or made for me, I expressed them as my own. My parents have always told me they learned early on how much I craved having power to control my own world and my own life, and the fact that in my diaries I express agency and decision-making reflects their efforts.
Fun observation:
While typing up my old 1999 entries on my computer, I encountered an excited entry about an upcoming trip to Canada. I had commented some years later on the entry, once again going to Canada. I was typing up these entries while on a train, going to Canada.
Original entry: March 18th, 1999: I’m going to CANADA! Yippee!
Comment on entry: 5/21/2007: Hey I’m going
to Canada! Hell yeah, 9 y/o self!
By the way, I'M IN CANADA! RIGHT NOW! Woohoo!!!
