Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Secret hearts and Spiral notebooks

Since I could remember I have always enjoyed writing. I could hardly wait to start a new notebook and to this day I am still collecting journals here and there. In school the big excitement came with January when I would get a new agenda. The first day I would set out different colour pens and glide page to page neatly printing birthdates adding hearts and stars. I would carefully detail my homework, colour code and underline. Math: pg 22-45, English: Read chapt. 3-5, finish vocab. Extra space would be filled with secret hearts dedicated to the boys I admired from far. I would write in the initials then quickly colour over it, keeping them hidden.

Through high school the pages would be filled by notes to friends (in class mind you) oh my god you know who I saw yesterday when I was at the mall....homework would be sparse, and space would be dedicated to after school curricular and various parties at the houses of friends whose parents were vacationing.

In university I seemed to amalgamate my prior school years. My due dates were bold and bright, and I set up careful scheduling to complete readings and tutorials. A precise and strict colour coding was in place. However, there were still colourfully decorated KEGGER @ ____ or St. FX trip!

As I grew older the excitement was still there with each new notebook or agenda I would purchase. In addition to my meticulous day planning I added list-making to my talents. However with the ever changing technology my not so secret obsession was becoming obsolete. I refused for years to make a switch. Now as a teacher, my students are constantly putting reminders and notes in their iphones or blackberries (the ones that they aren't supposed to have visible) and they giggle as I take out my calendar and a pencil. As if I were taking out a stone tablet and chiseling due dates.

In some ways I am adapting - I journal on my computer. I often send snippets to friends through e-mail and now this...this "blog"- although sounding slimy - it is out there - in the open for all to see.

Although repressed of the secret hearts of my past, I think I will enjoy sharing my oddities with you and I hope you will come to enjoy them too.

4 comments:

  1. love the party blog -- we are officially the first followers.

    love today's post -- can't wait to read more musings of my mentee....

    ReplyDelete
  2. What can I say except "BRAVO" I am so proud of you and love the Blog....can't wait to read other postings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice work white Jill... I will officially add this new "blog" to our resume ;)
    seriously though, good stuff!!
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  4. I, too, have loved my notebooks and journals growing up, and I struggle with the transition to electronica - not because I dislike it, I actually much prefer typing to long hand and I think my writing muscles have atrophied - but because I feel like all my musings are so dispersed. In the morning, I journal on my computer using MacJournal. Throughout the day, I might jot down notes in my iPhone - using either OneNote or MyDiary, depending on the nature of it. I also have a voice recorder, because sometimes I want to record something verbally. Then, always in my purse, is my old-fashioned journal, with everything from diary-type entries to reading notes. Journaling on my computer doesn't give me the sense of completeness that I used to feel when I filled out a diary and was ready to buy a new one. Well, anyway, I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts.

    ReplyDelete