Before taking this class, I had always used journaling as a way of “expression” rather than a weblog. I think this is due to the connotation of journaling being something private like writing in a diary. In grade school and high school, when told to “journal” it was always, “Now, no one will see what you are writing besides me. So feel free to express yourself and write whatever comes to mind.”
This brainwashed me into thinking that journaling was a complete free write with no direction other than maybe a prompt that was something along the lines of, “Describe how this makes you feel,” or something that a teacher wanted to make us think deeply about. There was this taboo put on journaling that I should write freely and from my heart because no one would read what I wrote and judge me. Many teachers associated journaling with writing in a diary, as opposed to using journaling as a way of writing freely, yet still a way for students to practice their writing.
I think of journaling now as a way of practicing my writing skills and ability to put my thoughts into a coherent (and sometimes not) work without the stress of it being a formal paper. I like having my journals on a weblog because it opens to the idea of having someone read and critique my writing for its content, not necessarily the grammar. This allows me to free write, yet in the back of my mind know that there is an order to my journal.
This leads me to the next realization I have made about journaling. The idea of a journal being a critique is also something I hadn’t put together before. Critically critiquing someone else’s work is something I had never done before and have found that it is something I enjoy. It allowed me to look deeper into the music I listened to, and really pay attention to why I liked the music I do.
I also realized how much easier it is for me to journal on topics I enjoy. Journals that had a focus on anything creative, liberal, or theological were topics I found myself not having a problem writing. I had never previously written or discussed anything about theology, and have found that I like writing and talking about it.
I guess the idea of journaling being something private and “for my eyes only” is an idea that has been closed. I think the idea of writing with the notion that no one will read it is counterproductive. Don’t we write so that our ideas are put out there? It almost seems like it’s something we should be ashamed of, or make us think that we can only write completely freely if we know someone isn’t going to read it and judge us. I enjoyed having my thoughts put out there so that someone may read it and give me their comments on it. I think changing my idea of journaling has made me a better writer because of the input I have received.