Ode to my father’s diaries.
Good morning from down under! Despite the usual summer scene, rain has added a unique touch to the Christmas buzz in Melbourne. While brewing my morning cuppa, I explore the Apple App Store and come across the Journal App, a recent addition by Apple in December 2023. Intrigued, I download it, envisioning a shift in personal storytelling, possibly rekindling the lost tradition of maintaining a personal diary.
The practice of keeping a daily diary or journal has evolved over time, but remains an insightful habit worth continuing in the modern era. For centuries, keeping a daily record of one’s thoughts, feelings, and activities was a way for people to process their lives and feel a sense of meaning or growth. The famous diaries of figures like Anne Frank or Samuel Pepys give us windows into historical periods and individual perspectives we couldn’t access otherwise.
And then there’re the diaries by my father. From 70s till the millennium, for almost three decades, my father diligently recorded daily events in his diary, adorned with beautiful handwriting expressing both joy and concerns for his children’s future.
That was in the pre-digital era, relying on limited news sources like Doordarshan and print media. A single page sufficed to capture a day’s essence.
But with the rise of blogging and social media, the concept of a “diary” has expanded to include a wider swath of society. The proliferation of the internet and mobile technology means anyone with an internet connection can chronicle their daily lives with words, images, audio, and video. This has democratized diary keeping so ordinary people have opportunities for self-expression and connection that didn’t exist before.
Over recent years, I’ve embraced a similar routine, albeit on the digital options available today, starting on platforms like Medium. Years ago I did venture on Blogspot, Substack, and even tried to write a couple of novels on Wattpad.
Sometime back I created my own Medium publication, www.Medium.com/soloartist, with 59 published stories. Lately, I aim to write one story per week. With tools like ChatGPT, Bard, Claude, etc., personal writing now incorporates quick research, broadening our topic’s perspective. Bear in mind it’s easy to copy AI generated text, but then, as I experienced my writing skills dropped significantly. Hence I reverted to writing the stuff on my own but with a tinge of support from AI, especially for additional references. Apple’s new Journal App promises enriched content with pictures, videos, audios, and words.
Despite changes in form and technology, core aspects of diary keeping remain relevant. Putting thoughts, emotions, experiences into words continues to help people find meaning, process trauma, appreciate life’s blessings and work toward self-improvement. Diary keeping supports mental health and personal growth. It also preserves histories and worldviews that would otherwise be lost. For these reasons, cultivating a regular diary habit remains a rewarding, enriching practice worth continuing, however we shape it to suit our modern lives and technologies. The human urge to chronicle our days, make sense of our lives, and feel heard spans history and culture. With mindful use of today’s technologies, we can revive and reimagine diary keeping as a tool for insight, mental health and personal fulfillment.
The approach shifts from pondering daily topics to capturing moments through photos or referencing digital archives on the phone. Excited to journal in 2024, not necessarily for professional purposes, but for personal reflection.
As I grow with a new near 2024, I hope to continue with the habit of what my father did. And I have technology by my side. One my desk. On my finger tips.
Love you dearest dad!
#chronicles #personalstories #journeys #writing #appleJournal
