Chronicles of Life
Journaling in today's world.
The very first time I sat down and wrote that sentence about my life, I became an addict. Stating my mind and expressing my feelings to a nonjudgmental audience just felt so right. With the first scratch of pencil on paper, I was hooked. Being a shy, unassuming girl, I have always gone through life censoring my thoughts and actions. Finally allowing myself an outlet for all of these feelings has been one of the greatest gifts I have ever given myself.
Journals have been around since the invention of writing, but even before then, people found ways to record their lives. Whether through stories and myths passed on by word of mouth or through paintings and drawings that have stood the test of time, human-kind is marked by a significant affinity for finding ways to document life.
Even though times have changed and technology has progressed, the art of recording life has not vanished; if anything, it has become more prevalent within society. While people may still write in journals, paint artwork, and take photos; blogs, websites, and social networks have dominated much of society throughout the last few years. As websites imitating MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter pop up all over the internet, more and more people have become involved in chronicling their daily lives.
Although many have come to accept this as part of the new age of a technologically dominated universe, there are still many that question and doubt its’ authenticity and existence. More times than I can count have I been asked why I choose to keep a blog, and while there are many answers to this question, they never seem to appease these questioning minds.
I may be a child of this technology-driven era, but I too had my doubts when blogging first appeared on the scene. I remember, quite clearly, the first time I ever heard about MySpace and Facebook. I was a freshman in high school when the obsession with social networking sites started to escalate. I remember wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to put everything about themselves online. It made absolutely no sense to me. What was the purpose of a site like Facebook? Wouldn’t it just make life more complicated? Why not just use a phone, write letters, or type up emails to communicate? All of these were valid questions for a person who was in high school with no need for the services that these sites provided, but at that point in time, they were mostly used by college students and artists, not the masses.
Even to this day, I have never signed up for a MySpace account. Whether it is because it was simply not a big thing among my friends, or the fact that I saw it as more of a place for upstart and established artists, I was never interested in opening an account. On the other hand, I do have a Facebook and Twitter account, as well as my own blog and website. While some shrink in fear from the new, changing face of social networking, I have obviously welcomed it with open arms. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still question certain aspects of each new phase of social networking, but I have, for the most part, come to like and accept much of this ever-changing technology.
Blogging has brought me closer to an entirely new group of people that I would have never connected with otherwise. It is an online journal typed up for the world to see, and thoughts and opinions are published on daily basis. Some choose to censor their opinions while others could care less. Although potentially anonymous, I have found that blogs tend to uphold a certain level of sincerity and trust. Though you may never know the person behind a blog, people have a tendency to trust a blogger’s opinions and thoughts on the world. It is a curious thing that an anonymous blogger’s opinion can receive just as much attention as that of a well known journalist. This is one of the many perks of blogging. Your opinion is out there for the world to see, whether they like it or not. It is a way for the unknown to be heard and well-known to discover new points of view.
Though I definitely enjoy blogging, it does not always satisfy my need for writing as well as my personal journal. Sometimes it is just nice to be able to scrawl my emotions over a page and not have to think about the repercussions. No one, as far as I know, has read my dairy, and no one, as long as I am alive, will read it. It is for me alone to express my feelings and understand my emotions. It is the one place where no one will judge me, where I can figure myself out, and where I can fully comprehend my life. There is something strangely satisfying about filling up the pages of my journal one by one. Whether full of pictures and drawings from my travels, poems and reminisces from wonderful experiences, or nostalgic reminders from the past, my journal houses my life story. Every important, exciting moment is recorded for all of eternity.
Even though I have openly welcomed blogging into my life, I have by no means stopped writing in my journal. Both of these forms of expression serve very different purposes in my life, and while technology continues to improve and evolve every day, I hope that long established forms of recording life will not be forgotten.
~Sithara Reddy~
