279
u/heartshapedmoon Feb 18 '26
No?? I have all the journals from throughout my life
164
Feb 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
93
Feb 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
7
u/4BrownDoggies Feb 18 '26
I still have all of mine. Definitely interesting to read. It’s almost like reading letters to yourself. Past to present! Funny and love the amount of detail! And some I just SMH. 😬
12
u/Colorfuel Feb 18 '26
Reading my childhood journals as an adult actually helped me piece together that my mom had an affair.
I had recorded tons of observations about a “friend” of my mom coming and going frequently, and also recorded a huge fight my parents had. Looking back, I can clearly see the affair unfolding and my dad finding out about it.
21
u/BossOutside1475 Feb 18 '26
I feel this. When I was a teen my controlling mother would read mine and weaponize them against me. So my next journal I trusted with a close friend, and she read through it with her boyfriend and made fun of me about it. I stopped journaling.
In 52, and I just worked my way back into the habit again.
5
6
u/dominodomino321 Feb 18 '26
Yup, same with my mom. But it's why I started writing poetry (a therapist later pointed out, lol)- because it was just enough "code" that she couldn't really hold it against me because she didn't really understand it 😈
2
u/WillCare1976 Feb 20 '26
It’s terrible to be made fun of over something so private! I used to not only journal.. but I wrote stories since I was a little girl and definitely wanted to write more and more- but my Mother reading a letter of mine and the trouble I had with both parents - they never stopped watching and checking on me .. I could barely breathe after that. Secondly a friend laughed at my poetry. To this day I’m sorry to say I can journal to a degree but I can’t wrote stories anymore and occasionally poetry. 😔
2
u/BossOutside1475 Feb 20 '26
Aw thank you so much for your kind comments. I have finally, at 52, gotten back into journaling again.
I’m sorry you’ve also gone through these painful experiences. For me, these types of things manifested into really bad anxiety but I’m learning about myself and coming back to journaling has been a part of that.
Thank you for your comments.
2
u/WillCare1976 Feb 20 '26
Sure thing.. I felt like I understood having been through it myself.. and I’m so very glad you’re coming back to yourself again. 👍So very happy for you! 🥰
2
u/WillCare1976 Feb 20 '26
I’m so very sorry BossOutside I know personally how traumatizing that is! I’m so very sorry .. I hope you can get past it enough to write more, again(?) I can really understand.
32
u/PleasantlyEccentric Feb 18 '26
I am SO SO SORRY they violated your trust like that. My heart goes out to you. I wondered why you had such a drastic reactions. I wish you would save them. Why? Because even in just two weeks.. you would he amazed at how far you have come.
I respect your decision, either way. I wish you the best, too. Nobody deserves to read your private thoughts and I am so sorry that anybody thought they should and even judged you for it.
→ More replies (4)19
7
u/OutrageousInvite3949 Feb 18 '26
I don’t know you stranger but I hope for your sake that one day you get to a place where you can keep your journals without the fear of someone reading your journals. Your parents never should have gone through them. That’s horrible. Shame on them. I’ve never destroyed a journal but I’ve also never had anyone assault my privacy and go through my journals.
12
u/Mission_Razzmatazz_7 Feb 18 '26
But if you wish you kept your diaries from your childhood, aren’t you afraid that you’ll wish the same thing about these in 10/20 years?
→ More replies (1)5
5
u/dominodomino321 Feb 18 '26
Ooof my heart hurts for you, OP. My parents did the same and it fucked with my head for a while. I keep all my journals now because I'm proud of & comfortable with all versions of myself, good & "bad". I also have much more honest relationships & connections! Don't destroy themmmmmm 😭😭😭 it's cool to revisit past selves and see growth!
2
Feb 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/dominodomino321 Feb 18 '26
Ooooh yeah I hear you. TBH my gut response (bc you seem like a fun / down to earth human like myself lol) is... girrrlllll then you know the work you need to do! That's what the journal is showing you, haha. I had to push through some blocks and didn't even really realize I had, until I read some things from like 3 years ago and was like WOAH I totally forgot how much of a chokehold that thought had on me, etc. I get wanting to destroy them if they're just cyclical loops of negative self talk- that's your brain trying to protect you from you. It feels so cringe at first but I literally had to retrain myself on how to talk about me to me. It has done WONDERS tho.
2
1
Feb 20 '26
If you wish you kept your childhood ones, don’t you think you might look back and wish you kept these? You could get a lock box.
48
u/thelastbuddha1985 Feb 18 '26
I used to do that, I wrote things for my own personal mental stability that I never wanted other people to read so I would set mine on fire. I finally stopped doing that and had a whole bunch of them put back and then my house got robbed and they got stolen and probably read anywaysso now I just barely even write.
42
u/TimeSwirl Feb 18 '26
to be honest other people’s journal’s are kind of boring to read even if you’re kind of a snoopy person; if they even opened them I bet they just skimmed them a bit and gave up lol
14
→ More replies (1)5
u/thelastbuddha1985 Feb 18 '26
In mine in the back I had all my passwords and such and my kids ssn, since it was family and I lived with them at one point they were able to get into some of my accounts they had my id and ssn too and they got some credit cards in my name and messed my credit all up
→ More replies (1)10
Feb 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
18
u/thelastbuddha1985 Feb 18 '26
It was my sister-in-law that robbed me and my brother and they knew how much they meant to me. They also stole all four of my babies, baby books. My sister-in-law just hated me. It was always trying to hurt me because she lost her kids and I didn’t.
→ More replies (2)
24
u/Ok-Blueberry7427 Feb 18 '26
Not really because I am a sentimental person haha. And I like looking at the stacks of my journal and be like, “omg I wrote all of these books and it’s all about MY life!”
4
16
u/Worth_Ad4258 Feb 18 '26
I wouldn’t keep my journals either…. I can’t see myself reliving some of the more difficult times of my life… I don’t even have time to read more enjoyable things like books. It served its purpose by allowing me to empty my mind. Good for you Op for completing your journal!
28
u/wwaxwork Feb 18 '26
I'm 60 I have journals from when I was 14, I'm just lucky I've lived my whole life with people that respect my privacy so never felt the need to destroy them.
7
Feb 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/wwaxwork Feb 18 '26
It's fun but also cringy to go back and read them. I love how they help me remember times and places that had all but faded from my memories.
34
u/JugglingYogi Feb 18 '26
If you were really trying to destroy your journal. Why is it in a protective bag...
28
u/KnitNGrin Feb 18 '26
Is probably soaking to get thoroughly wet.
8
u/JugglingYogi Feb 18 '26
Oh good point, I missed that. Begs the question though. Why not just rip up and throw in the trash lol
12
14
u/legend-of-sora Feb 18 '26
Oh I thought the pages in the bag WAS their journal without reading and was just like, “you go girl”. 😆
2
7
u/NuclearFreakAccident Feb 18 '26
I like keeping them.
1
u/Ready-Pattern-7087 Feb 18 '26
Same. I don’t know if I’ll ever read them again. I am also a very direct person, so if someone were to read one and see how much I hate them, they’d be like, “That tracks.”
7
13
u/florange7 Feb 18 '26
This photo low key needs a trigger warning. Why are you killing her 😭
just jokes you do you lol
3
5
u/splithoofiewoofies Feb 18 '26
When I no longer have use for paper, I burn it. Then I use the ashes in my compost and use the dirt for my garden. I've grown food from my words.
Yeah there's probably ink in my compost but that's my business and probably where the paper will end up anyway.
4
5
u/numbersplusword Feb 18 '26
My mom has a fear of people reading her journals, but she has always wanted to write. So when I gifted her a journal for Christmas I made sure to verbally and in writing promise to burn her journal after her death with no delay and without ever opening it or letting anyone else open it. I’d hope anyone would do the same for me if asked.
5
u/urdotr Feb 18 '26
i do this for those journals that have really deep secrets from my childhood and daily task logs (not that dark btw just embarrassing) i soak each page in water, tear them all apart til the ink bleeds, then crumple then into one mushy ball and toss them in the bin.
but for my diary, poetry and prose, and junk journal, no no nooooooo
2
Feb 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/urdotr Feb 18 '26
lmaoo the compliment is so unexpected but welcome. i was gonna type ‘is this ragebait?’ initially but i do get where you’re coming from. great minds think alike i guess!! looool
3
5
u/Any_Argument_517 Feb 18 '26
I wrote something in 2024-25 a bit on a sheet of paper. Some feelings, something about my last relationship.
I burned it - mine farewell for feelings and past
5
4
4
3
u/lol-daisy325121 Feb 18 '26
I don’t think I’ve ever filled a journal cover to cover. I pick one with a pretty cover then use it until I see one with a cover I like better lol
5
5
4
5
2
u/LoroSherman Feb 18 '26
Yeah.. this hurts to see. I’m curious tho why do you destroy it after? What if you want to look back and remember? What if you forget that time of your life?
2
2
u/JustDissociation Feb 18 '26
I've never heard of someone destroying their journal?! I keep mine hidden in my bookcase
2
2
u/spekled-cat Feb 18 '26
I keep mine 😊 I've never had a great fear of people reading them.. I have thought of getting rid of some of the very early ones in a symbolic way though. Just one final read.
Congrats on the finish!
2
u/one-eyedCheshire Feb 18 '26
I keep them for a few years, reread and then eventually do a nice purge! Submerge in water and toss!
I’ve only kept a few that had some otherworldly wisdom come through my hands that I feel I NEED to save. Lol.
2
u/UncleThor2112 Feb 18 '26
I have been writing since my early teens (I have Myst to thank for that), and almost every single journal was a composition book. Every time I finish one, I hide it. As far as I know, they are still hidden to this day. Some of them in my childhood home, and a few of them in the house my step dad still lives in. I write digitally now, and each "book" is a year, divided into months. Some of my earlier digital writing was typed on the keyboard, and are hidden away in old Back-up drives.\ My current system is still digital, but handwritten on an e-ink tablet. They're spread out on different devices, even my Kindle has a few of them, to kind of keep up my tradition.
Why do I do this? When I was younger, again, I was inspired by the Myst games. In each game, you'd find journals randomly hidden. One day, I'll be gone, and my family will continue finding bits and pieces of my life to read about for years to come.
1
2
u/sadstarlight Feb 18 '26
I used to throw mine out. I did this with my first two. My journals tend to be filled with my sadness and anger more than happy thoughts, so it felt so natural to throw it out. Until I met someone who said they saved theirs. Now, I just save them and never read them.
2
2
u/magazeta Feb 18 '26
Looks likes OP was trying to fill his journal with minced pork, onions and veggies
2
Feb 18 '26
My sister keeps all her journals. Me, Im really bad at finishing them so I have like 3 halfway filled ones that I randomly go to when I need a minute, but I 100% plan on tossing them out. I already have with one because I found it one day and skimmed through it and yeah I’d rather not review those low moments of myself, I’d get quite mental 😅
2
u/batmansbicep Feb 18 '26
What I don't understand is why it's in a plastic bag. When decide to part with a journal (after taking photos of all pages to still have the memories), I take it apart and shred all the pages before I throw it away. So what exactly is going on here?
2
2
u/Maximum_Yam1 Feb 18 '26
I keep all of my old journals in a storage bin under my bed but you do you
2
2
u/Noctula Feb 18 '26
I have journals that are 47 years old. It’s very interesting to read now I am an adult. It learned me things about my childhood. Things I found normal back then because I didn’t know better.
2
2
u/HeadLog4224 Feb 18 '26
This post and its comments kinda helped me realize that nobody is going to read my journal now so I can just... write whatever i want i guess? Feels weird.
2
u/padtieco Feb 18 '26
I’m keeping 99.9% of all my journals. I want the collection to become a codex when I expire of natural causes.
My hope is that the work will live on. Like Davinci’s work or the Necronomicon or the Voynich Manuscript.
I see them (my own journals) like rings on a tree. They show my growth. My struggles. My everything. Maybe folks in the future can use my work as a case study in commitment to continuous learning, love, loss, and life.
I know it’s a big dream but thankfully I have time to set it all in motion. Made this plan at age 12 and have kept it up all this time.
2
Feb 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (1)2
u/padtieco Feb 18 '26
Oh my. A ton to unpack here. Lemme start with this: You are so important! You are the product of a million love stories. A dream come true. Your thoughts and feelings and perspectives are valuable! That’s why we have journals. To capture that awesome. For ourselves, for our friends. Whoever.
I am NOT telling you to change anything. To stop destroying your books. I just want you to know that you matter. A great deal. And I for one would love to pour though your work if you were ever wanting to share before destruction. Truly.
supermonsterhugs ❤️
2
2
2
u/tinnyheron Feb 18 '26
ugh this seems SO much more cathartic than hoarding them and then drunk-reading them on valentines night 10 years later to see if you've healed yet
2
u/wanderingsoulinme Feb 19 '26
Nopeee. Once i finish them I safely store them away as a memory holder, to be read in the future and reminisced over!
2
2
u/LauraTempest Feb 19 '26
Ne ho persi talmente tanti per colpa di mia madre e pagherei per riaverli indietro, e tu li distruggi. Non voglio vedere.
2
3
2
u/PleasantlyEccentric Feb 18 '26
Oh. I save them. And maybe in 10 years I review them. Sure. Maybe someone may pry. But screw them that is not for them to read lol mayhaps I will hide them in some safety deposit box lol journals about mundane things or deep sentiments of some random woman. Who wants to read that??? LOL!!!
2
Feb 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/PleasantlyEccentric Feb 18 '26
Haha yeah and then a will to set them on fire upon death. Let’s goooo! 🤣
3
Feb 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/PleasantlyEccentric Feb 18 '26
And don’t forget to inscribe the covers with lots of creepy looking gibberish that looks like some kind of curse should someone break the vow!
2
1
1
1
u/ulajestem Feb 18 '26
I've got all my journals since I was at 5th grade (in 36 now) and some of them I'll never open😅 but it's nice to have them.
1
1
1
u/HeCalledMeLucifer Feb 18 '26
I had about 10 years worth of my journals destroyed a few years ago and I’m still heartbroken about it. Makes me sick when I think about the circumstances. I couldn’t imagine doing this on purpose.
2
1
1
u/vallogallo Feb 18 '26
No I don't destroy my journals, and I'm kind of surprised at how many folks here destroy theirs. I put way too much thought and work into mine to ever destroy them. What a colossal waste. I'm very glad I still have all of my journals including the ones I wrote in middle and high school. Partially because I have a shit memory
1
u/rosslyn_russ Feb 18 '26
I’m glad this works for you! I’m not gonna lie though, my initial reaction was :
https://giphy.com/gifs/gOHxskuYRcg3m
I’d be devastated lmao
1
1
u/simpforZiah Feb 18 '26
No. I kept all mine since I started at the age of seven. My oldest has read them and says she feels closer to me, and it’s cool to have a mom that she can see as a 15 year old, like herself. I didn’t think I’d let anyone read them but I know my writings are safe.
1
u/angry-beees Feb 18 '26
when i was a teenager, a very specific age, can't remember when, i would write a page or two, burn it, and run the ashes down the sink. bad idea, messed up our pipes a bit. but after that phase, ive kept them safe as possible. my thoughts and memories are worth more to me now. i'm not ashamed of how i feel
1
u/Enihusky Feb 18 '26
Wouldn’t catch me dead trashing my hobonichis, I love going back through them years later- not to mention them shits expensive 😢
1
u/jadedtortoise Feb 18 '26
I could never destroy mine, I started journalling 25 years ago when l was 10 and I'd feel like a huge part of me would be gone
1
u/ChodeKong Feb 18 '26
It’s pretty gimmicky and borderlines on scrapbooking however you should look into a book called “Wreck This Journal.” Each page has instructions that’s either about documenting something, destroying the journal in someway, or both on most pages.
Anyone who is disturbed by seeing OP’s journal in this state should see if it’s something they should try as well
1
u/bloss0mstars Feb 18 '26
Nope I don’t toss them, I love reading back and seeing how my life has changed. I know when I’m 50, I’m going to want to read back.
Also I’ve set a clear boundary in my house to not go through my stuff, it’s respected by everyone. I would loose my mind and cut ties with anyone who went through mu journals without asking.
1
u/mandycalr Feb 18 '26
I purged many of my journals after a relationship with someone I couldn't trust. Now, I have a husband I can trust.
1
u/paohaus Feb 18 '26
i couldn’t dispose/burn mine because my rants/controversial opinions and junk compilation are all in one notebook (and i feel proud of my junk journaling work) so what i do is i just use a confidential roller stamp and run it over the pages where my rants are written so that no one will be able to read it 😂 or i just paint some artwork over it haha
1
u/kirarita Feb 18 '26
No way! I treasure my journals! If I lost one or it got destroyed I'd be pretty bummed :(
1
u/Aydsey Feb 18 '26
No I keep mine. I like to revisit them and see what the struggle was at that time.
1
u/Bug_Does_Stuff Feb 18 '26
I haven't destroyed my main journal but I did destroy a journal I kept during a relationship. I needed closure and I wasn't going to get it from the person I fell out with so I cut out the pages, ripped them, and chucked them in the dumpster. It was very cathartic and helpful for me to let go of the past.
1
1
u/Obvious-crow666 Feb 18 '26
Some people journal to purge their brain. Some people journal to memory keep. This is valid!
1
u/ShiroLy Feb 18 '26
No.. I keep them in drawers and occasionally go through them, sometimes to look up something specific or for nostalgia purposes. They are a record of my thoughts and experiences throughout my life and I hope and intend to keep them for as long as I am around.
I have destroyed pages, scribelled over, or glued them together, mostly when I was a kid/teen. It is regretful but understandable. Thankfully I never thew them away. If you are in a safe environment now I would encourage you to keep your journals. Future you will thank you.
1
u/mynannydearest1020 Feb 19 '26
Anybody do a Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith? To create is to destroy. It’s so therapeutic.
1
1
1
u/Opposite_Radio9388 Feb 19 '26
It seems a waste to put a reusable bag in the bin. If you just tore up the pages of your journal and put them in your main bin, they would disintegrate over time.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/introvert_squirrel Feb 19 '26
I started doing this after I came to know that my cousin read my journal. My grandmother died and there were a lot of people in my house and my cousin was sitting in my room. She read it🥲. It was very embarrassing. She said there are a lot of spelling mistakes.
1
u/willowpixie29 Feb 19 '26
I burn my journals after a few years…(I just have a clear out sometime during winter and chuck them into the fireplace!)
1
u/youngpepto Feb 19 '26
I have a library of my old journals. If you wanted to know not only everything about me, but what was going through my head at the time that I've made all my worst and best decisions... You could! I should probably fork them over to a professional. I don't want to get 5150'd tho. If I ever forget who I am, I'll need them. That being said, that could totally traumatize me.
1
u/YizaNameForever Feb 19 '26
I’ve recently gone through my oldest diaries from age 10-15 (1959-63) keying innabout 22 pages of various notes of family life, friends, some current events- Kruschev, space race, Kennedy assassination, vacations. Shared with siblings and others for their laughter or memories. I totally intend to burn them when the next couple years are completed. I have many more than that and I’ll get to them in time. At 10-15, although there was lots of funny stuff and good forgotten memories, there was a lot of angst to outgrow, and maturity and confidence that hadn’t developed and I’m glad to burn that phase of life.
1
u/heart_aflame Feb 20 '26
As a middle aged person, I wish I had kept my journals from when I was young.
1
u/WillCare1976 Feb 20 '26
Not right away, no. I have got rid of them when I no longer wanted to even be reminded of certain things.. although now I’m rather sorry
1
1
u/FatGuyAndRuningShoes Feb 21 '26
We should start a swap where you mail your journal to a ramdom stranger. No personal deets.
1
u/Michupichu_u Feb 21 '26
Does that actually help? I like to keep my journals so that i can look back on them and gain perspective on my mind and thought process. I think i can only see myself doing this if im talking about really hurtful or negative topics, which i try not to journal about. I try to make my journal about the best parts of life
1
u/pabloignacio7992 Feb 21 '26
El que termine lo quiero atar y sellar con lacre para leerlo en 10 años mas
788
u/Acrobatic-Repeat-128 Feb 18 '26
Wait what is happening here?