Sweetpea

I've been pondering my reason for keeping a TFP journal for some time. I think that it's a way to connect with others on here in this community. I've gotten to know various people through their journals and some entries have sparked some very interesting personal conversations. Sometimes I feel my journal may reveal too much... but it's a place of introspection for me and I feel solid enough in my life and myself to share that introspection. Although sometimes i think it's just a bunch of drivel that i write, but it's still me, so I have to go with it. And i've also been able to see my own personal progess (and non-progress in some areas) in life, career and interpersonal relationships over the past year of keeping my journal.

My questions for both us journalers and non journalers:

Do you feel like you know members of TFP better when they keep a journal as opposed to just boards/chat?

Have you thought about starting a TFP journal? Why have you choosen not to yet? (and will you after reading this thread?)

If you already have a journal... Why did you start it? Please share how do you feel you benefit from it if possible.

If you do not keep one, what reasons do you have for not having one?



Thanks,

sweetpea

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Lucifer

The journal is something that I've pondered on and off. I've often thought about starting one, cause I think it would be another way that I could contribute to this community. I probably won't start one now, but I'll keep it in mind and when I return to the board in January, maybe then I will start one.

I don't think that it makes me feel like I know members better by reading their journal entries, mostly because thats an area of the forum that I don't go to often. Sometimes if I click on a handle to check out someone's profile, I'll see that they've got a journal, and I'll be reminded that I've not checked out certain members journals recently.

I think the one thing that does help bring me closer to other members is the chat feature. I've had some good conversations with other members there.

I do keep a blog elsewhere on the internet (address is through my profile) and I think it affords me a little more creativity than the journal would allow me, i.e. the ability to add photos, colours, live webcams, etc.

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ubertuber

Absolutely. I've got several TFP friendships that I attribute directly to the Journal section. I think it's one of the most personal parts of the site, and you get the opportunity to get to know people in a way that isn't possible in the other parts of the site.

Some people use their journals like a diary or something that records daily events. I use mine to work things out or examine my thoughts. It's good because I have thoughts that are made more effective by being written out in an understandable format. When I was younger I wrote letters that I never sent that filled the same purpose. I think this is better. In fact, I should be more proactive about using it.

Starting my journal was a very defined turning point for me here. It marked the time that I started becoming a member of the community here and started getting to know people instead of just talking to them. I think it's a really important part of our community.

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Tamerlain

I don't have a journal here because I have a paper journal. I've kept one for years. I've found when I write on a word processor (or anything that uses a keyboard + monitor) I erase things I don't like. When I write with a pen, I can't erase anything. I find it makes me more honest with myself.

I started keeping a journal back when my parents separated which was... 10 years ago now. At the time, I wasn't comfortable talking to either of them about the other, so I wrote. Looking back on what I've written in the past, keeping a journal helped me because I think on paper.

I don't think I'll ever keep a journal online, since I use my journal to get in touch with my emotions and to me that's very private. I think I might start a blog though, something a little less personal but still relevant to friends and family.

-Tamerlain

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AquaFox

we have journals?




actually after seeing myspace and other journal sites, i've been turned off by them. but now after seeing what has been said in this thread, and after browsing around the journals, i do enjoy what i see. i might just start one on here this week, soo keep an eye open for me

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...AquaFox...

Siege

It shows me a different side to them sometimes. Or at least makes them seem more human to me

I do it to bitch and whine about my problems. Also, it helps to have opinions.

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Gatorade Frost

I've thought about it before, but I already have a blog, a myspace, a live journal and a Xanga. Not that I use all of them, but when I need to write I tend to do it on blogger.com and xanga.

I don't tend to read journals of members because I never really think about it. On this forum, I don't have a journal - I have a blogger.com blog where I talk about what's going on with me, but that's about it. I figure if people desire to read up on my life and my thoughts, they can find the link in my profile and absorb the knowledge that is Jonathan.

Plus when something interesting enough in my life comes up or occurs I usually want to hear about other people's situations in that regard so I make a post about it instead of making a journal entry.

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Elphaba

I only read Mal's journal. I don't think that anything about my life would interest anyone.

Ustwo

Keeping a journal for your own education I think is a good thing, I have thought I should do so many times in the past, but I never make the effort.

Keeping a journal for all to read is exhibitionism of a sort I am not interested in.

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ubertuber

That was something that I struggled with as well - in fact it was the topic of my first journal entry. Ultimately I knew that putting things into a form that was organized enough for other people to consume was a good practice for me. If I knew that nobody else would ever see my thoughts I'd be tempted to take shortcuts, thinking I'd understand what I was saying later. I've already looked back at entries and seen places where that would not have been the case.

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Meditrina

I keep a journal here, and I also have a blog elsewhere.

My journal here allows me to ask for advice on things that I don't know if they should be on the forums, or which forum to put them in. It has opened up the lines of communication with a few TFPers and I now enjoy talking to them on a regular basis. So it has helped me to get to know others here a bit better. I do tend to be shy on most occasions, the journal allowed me to open up without being obvious about it. (I hope that makes sense).

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Toaster126

I don't keep a journal for a couple reasons. First, it takes time and energy. Secondly, I think the people in my life that care about what I would put in a journal already know what I would put there, or they can ask me.

On some level, it takes a certain amount of conceit to write in a public journal. A public journal states that you believe what you write about is important or worthy for others to read. I think that applies to all writing, though, not just journaling.

Any public journal I kept would be more of an opinion board... something to share my viewpoints with the world. I have no interest in keeping one for my own thoughts and introspections because I can use my brain to think about those; I don't need to write them down, nor do I want or need others reading them.

Recently I have been asked by several people why I don't keep a journal, so perhaps in the future I may appease the teeming masses and write some thoughts down. I have a strong feeling it will just end up reading like an opinion section in the newspaper, though.

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Sweetpea

And that would be a bad thing? i think not.

sweetpea

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Sweetpea

It can be seen like that, I see where you're coming from and yes, there is that element, but I think it's also a form of connection.

sweetpea

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MexicanOnABike

eh.. i see it too much like keeping a blog. if i have something to say, i'll say it dirrectly to the ones concerneed and not for everyone to see.
but i did look at a few of them and THEY are fun to read. i learn more from some ppl because they seem more personal.

im just not interested in keeping a log of my life on the internet. i might start on paper soon though. i want to know what i did back in the days when i read it at the age of 75. hehe.

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abaya

I have kept a paper journal since I was about 8 years old. I have stacks and stacks of books filled with my own writing, that no one has (or ever will, probably) read. It was mostly a form of therapy for me, in the form of writing up to an hour or more each day (especially in college). I used to fill up a goodly-sized book about once every 3 months, but in recent years I have taken 1-3 years to fill up one book. I guess that means I've learned how to process things a little better... either that, or the sex takes care of it. (I was a virgin, non-drinking, non-swearing goody-two-shoes until well after I graduated from college... my, how I've changed. )

Anyway, I started the journal on TFP because sometimes I had things that were so personal, I didn't want them broadcast by starting a thread in some General Discussion forum, but I still wanted someone to pay attention to them and give me feedback and perspective. That is, someone in the big forums might click on my thread because the topic is interesting, but not because they care about me. Whereas, in the journals, someone will click on my journal probably because they know me, and they know that when I'm posting, it's often serious. (My theory, at least.)

So in that sense the journal format is a little more safe, a little more intimate, than the big forum. I don't often use the TFP journal unless I'm feeling extraordinarily stressed, sad, blissful, or reflective. I don't use it for my day-to-day experiences and feelings... I only use it when I need something directly from the community, and when I like to get to know individuals better by reading their journals and commenting. I admit I don't do enough of the latter...

I really value this community, since it's basically my only regular community I've had since I quit going to church and being part of that whole gig. Sometimes when I'm up shit crick without a paddle, the journal is the only place where I can ask for and receive direct help. (Chat is also very good, true, but I don't usually have time to do that.)

Hope that answered the question... I ramble.

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Toaster126

I've noticed a common theme in real life journal writing as oftentimes having to do with self-therapy. I wonder how true that is for TFP journals as well.

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"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." (M. Scott Peck)

Sweetpea

Well, it could be viewed like that in the sense that... you're watching yourself progress or not... so i suppose that could be self therapy. *shrug*



sweetpea

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healer

I hardly ever get around to reading the journals. The Board itself is so vast, and my daily amount of TFP-time so short that it becomes difficult.

Most of the reasons I haven't started a journal of my own have been mentioned above. Add to that list that I wouldn't know where to start and a general lack of imagination/creativity...you get the picture.
I don't feel that what I have to put down would be of much value to others. That said, my motivation for writing the journal would have to be more personal. Which would probably result in a private journal, if anything at all.

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ShaniFaye

I basically keep a jounal here so I can put things in it so my "friends" can keep current with whats going on in my life..things that dont warrent a thread in members playground but that I want to let people in on.

I also keep one on myspace and my own board since there are people that might be on only one of those 3 places.

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highthief

I've been here since 03 and had no idea we had a journal function. Never seen it, never knew it existed.

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maleficent

No... because if anyone, god forbid, is like me, they seriously censor what they write in their journals... I'm not an exhibitionist by nature, but my journals, while often whiney, I try to be entertaining, my airport stories, my life is not as amusing, and my airport antics aren't as funny at the time... after the fact... I can find humor in anything. I don't write anything overly personal, and I don't think anyone really gets to know me based on the crap that I write in my journal.

Every so often, a comment will be left on my journal, or on other people's journal and I honestly scratch my head and think -- THAT's what you got out of that entry? Fascinating...

entertainment value -- some of the bullshit that i put up with in airports is just too annoying -- to be kept to myself... a buddy a few years ago, based on my now defunct website, where i used to keep all my airport stories, suggested i write a book of all my travel adventures... (I suck as a writer so I passed on that, but it was good for my ego) The benefit I get? is no m atter how crappy my life might be at the time, a journal entry allows me to find the funny side of the bullshit.

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roachboy

i think i do a kind of anti-journal.

i started it as a device to force myself to write every day---as a way to try to work out from under what i decided was a block.

so it started out as a kind of game but turned into not just a space in which i was trying to work my way out from under years of academic history training----which i felt had effectively pulverized my ability to write. the nineteenth century style realist narratives, the compulsive citation of Authorities, the bizarre assumption that textual representations are somehow transparent, that one stages the past in linear form, etc---this creeping sense that i would get as i wrote academic stuff that i did not recognize or even like the persona that was doing the assembling of information in the text---and that the medium itself was opaque.
the world is multidimensional: texts are not.

so it was about making a voice, paring down sentences--working with constraints/rules--making entries about making entries, sentences about sentences, arranging words and images in a block that were about arranging words and images in a block.

i got interested in seeing how far i could go.
so it took on a life of its own.
but it was mostly about itself.
a kind of dismantling of a journal while making one anyway.

then i stopped.

it was important to me that the journal was hidden, that it was hard to get to and could not be pulled up via a websearch of my real name.

at the same time, the whole thing was very much about the possibility that it was being read by someone because that assumption gave an element of something mobile to it (a reader reading) that i could direct/move around/play with.

i read a few other journals--art's most regularly, one or two others from time to time--rarely when i am not also doing stuff on mine. i noticed that lots of folk treat their journals like telephones (half a conversation) or a diary and tell stories about what happens to them. that didnt appeal to me--first because i am kinda stuck on how not transparent the form is--second because i am a kind of private person and putting straight stories up seemed to me......o i dont know.....unworkable.

lately i have been starting a new series, setting up a different game, we'll see how it plays out. i am not sure that i will keep the journal here exclusively--but we'll see. too much going on, too little time. like now.

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ubertuber

Pardon me, but this is worth a time-out. In 2660 posts, this is the first capital letter I've ever seen roachboy type. I assumed you had the shift key functionality removed from your keyboard!

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laconic1

I'm really not sure why I started my journal here. I do like to go back from time to time and read about stuff that was going on two or three years ago, what I was doing and thinking about. I doubt anybody knows me better, and I don't know anybody better from reading their journals.

StanT

Same

I find some journals entertaining and some thought provoking. I find others boring and don't continue to follow them. While mine is heavily self censored, I hope it is somewhat entertaining. I keep it as a means of "paying back" the ones that I do read.

Poppinjay

I do it to keep in the practice of writing on a regular basis. I started one in high school under the direction of my English teachers. We had to journal for the first five minutes of every class. That continued in college as an English major.

I also do it on occasion to see what kind of advice I'll get. Sometimes I have a problem but I don't want to start a thread over it.

There's a bit of conceit in making it public. However, I don't recall any journal I've read that didn't warrant attention. There are some fascinating stories. It's worthy writing. Some are very eloquent, some look askance at the English language, but everybody has a story to tell and I have always been a people watcher. It satisfies my inner-anthropologist.

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fresnelly

I find that the Journals section is a bit of a community within the community. Your entries are sheltered a bit from the wilds of the board, and those reading and replying to them, generally seek them out. There's some comfort and intimacy in this which I relish.

I use my journal here to share personal experiences that don't necessarily merit their own threads, but that I want to get out there. Those who care, can follow my 'adventures' as they progress across several entries, and hopefully get some enjoyment along with a bit of insight into who I am. It lets us share ourselves beyond topical opinions. Granted I'm not sharing every sordid detail, but I feel that's mostly noise anyways.

<b>Do you feel like you know members of TFP better when they keep a journal as opposed to just boards/chat?</b>

I think many of us present our best behaved social selves here, but you can glean patterns through journal entries much easier than through the boards.

The Boards, Chat, and Journals all offer different pieces of the puzzle. Keeping a journal here is me contributing as much as I can.

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JustJess

I journaled off and on through out youth and adolescence and all that. I find that I write pretty much the same way here that I would have in paper journals... I just need a safe venting place. Sometimes I can't exist in the denial of the things that stress me and I have to let it out. I do enjoy the extra interaction, however... It's nice to know that I'm not completely whiny or nuts.

I read the journals almost every day - or at least every work day - and I do think I've learned a lot about the other people on TFP. I value that - you're all real people and the journals illustrate that more completely.

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Redlemon

I rarely post to my journal; usually, its something that I feel like saying, but starting a thread for that thought doesn't seem appropriate.

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Sultana

I don't journal regularly. While I think it would be great self-therapy, I don't have the time...I tend to be wordy, and could easily spend an hour a day chronicalling my thoughts, and I'd rather post to interesting board topics for that alotted time.

The journal I do keep is strictly for myself, although I do allow others to read it, in the thought that perhaps others might find it useful, entertaining, etc. Right now it's more a collection of thoughts, ideas, To-Do's, etc.

I tend to not read many other's journals, because I feel many use it as a place to post their whining and complaints and whatnot, and that's not anything I'm interested in spending time reading. With the very few journals I do keep up on, yes, I definitely feel more connected to them, but there's a reason I chose those journals to read.

I would like to journal nakidly and honestly, but if I've learned anything, it's to not put anything incriminating down in writing. Documentation has bitten so many people in the butt...

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Cynthetiq

Do you feel like you know members of TFP better when they keep a journal as opposed to just boards/chat?
Yes, people put more personal thoughts and convictions into the journal side of the community.

If you already have a journal... Why did you start it? Please share how do you feel you benefit from it if possible.
I started it because I wanted to keep a diary of my daily musings. It's been very helpful for looking back at trends and issues that I've had in my life.

I also find it's a good way to get input from what's happening in my world from other members. I don't write for their benefit, but the bonus I get is that there is input from other people. I can decide if I want to use that input or not.

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Supple Cow

I follow a small number of journals regularly and read all the latest entries on the index page when I have more time.
Without a doubt. Whether people explicitly state things about their character or not, I learn a lot about a person by what they write in their journal. For this reason, the Journal area is my favorite part of the TFP.

I don't remember why I thought I was starting it at the time, but it hardly matters now. Over time, my journal has come to be my primary source of expression on the TFP... my main workspace for personal growth. I've struggled with all of the things people have listed here as reasons for not keeping a journal, but none of it ever seems to matter more than the benefit I receive from the process. I am doing myself a favor by keeping a journal here, and I would hope that anybody who decides to participate in that process (by reading and/or commenting) does so because they find a benefit in it as well.

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Supple Cow

Toaster, you're on to something there, but I think what a person can get out of a journal like this is bigger than that. This thread reminds me of something I read in a cheesy little book I bought on a whim: It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be, by Paul Arden (he's an advertising guy).
Now, I find a lot of the things he says to be problematic--particularly the example of a kid not wanting other kids to cheat off of her exam--but I dig the main idea of giving of yourself and then getting more in return through the process of "replenishing" your ideas.

I'm all for discretion and keeping things secure in a world of identity theft and stalkers, but my experience tells me that if I spend a lot more energy trying to keep things to myself than I do expressing myself, then I'm living each day with a net loss rather than a net gain.

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"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
(Michael Jordan)

snowy

Do you feel like you know members of TFP better when they keep a journal as opposed to just boards/chat?

Reading others' journals allows me to get to know a more personal side of themselves that they might not share in their posts. It allows more details. Chat, on the other hand, tells me a lot about their personality I don't get other places.

If you already have a journal... Why did you start it? Please share how do you feel you benefit from it if possible.

Um, I started it because they offered it! No deep reason, really. I like my TFP journal because I catalog things there that I don't in other places. It is more personal to me because I know people read it. I also have a Livejournal, and I post there too...but that is more to keep real-life friends up-to-date. TFP is more abstract in some ways, less about what I've been up to and more about how I feel about what I've done.

I also have a blog on Blogspot (linky in my profile) that deals with food, eating, cooking, and other food-related topics. I am trying to write there more often. I use it to post recipes I've come up with as well as reviews of restaurants I've eaten at, things I've tasted that have been exceptional, etc. I'm hoping to use it more frequently to publish my vegetarian-friendly recipes (most of which I come up with myself or adapt from meat-inclusive recipes). It is definitely a more topical blog than my journal here or my Livejournal.

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Carno

Yeah I think so; many times people post things in their journals that I would never have known about them just from the forums.

I don't really remember why I started my journal, but it was probably because I needed somewhere to vent. Having a journal is something that I have been kinda struggling with for a while though, because it just kinda makes me uncomfortable to say things on there when I don't know who can read them. I don't like people knowing certain things about me unless I know and trust them. I don't mind talking about anything really, but it all depends on who I am telling it to. For that reason I find myself going back and editting or locking a lot of entries. Several comments in my journal don't make much sense because I edit the journal after people have already added a comment.

However, I have found it nice that people can add comments, because often times they add something I hadn't thought of or they just saying something nice that makes me feel better. I really do appreciate all of the comments that everyone has left on my journal, but sometimes I just can't leave certain things out in the open and I have to lock the entry or delete certain parts.

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Suave

Do you feel like you know members of TFP better when they keep a journal as opposed to just boards/chat?
Sometimes, yes. For example, reading link's journal was incredibly interesting.

Have you thought about starting a TFP journal? Why have you choosen not to yet? (and will you after reading this thread?)
I have not, and shall not. When I do write things in my makeshift journal, it's generally for my own memory assistance. I'm not big on broadcasting things. I may tell people if they decide to converse with me, but I've no reason to post my daily events or feelings on the Internet like that; I have these forums and empty webspace if I want to voice my opinion.

If you do not keep one, what reasons do you have for not having one?
Reasons noted above.

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Grasshopper Green

Do you feel like you know members of TFP better when they keep a journal as opposed to just boards/chat?
Yes, although I have been really slacking in reading and writing journals lately. I think people post more personal things in the journals that don't show through in regular posts.


If you already have a journal... Why did you start it? Please share how do you feel you benefit from it if possible.
I mostly started mine as a type of therapy after my brother died. I joined an online SOS group (survivors of suicide), but the website did nothing for me...it was too depressing. My family has never been great on communication, and since I was the one that found him, everyone seemed to think I was an eggshell that needed special handling. So, I started writing here because it was convenient, and because I respect the majority of the people on this board, and knew that anyone who cared to read my journal would be respectful of what I was writing about. In the year or so I've written in my journal, I've written about other touchy subjects that I have difficulty expressing IRL. I'm not a great communicator, and getting things out on paper (or in a web journal) helps me deal with the stuff that rattles around in my head. I haven't had an actual written journal in years...so an online one just made sense.

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Willravel

Just started my journal. Thanks for the heads up! It's funny, I've been here for going on 2 years, and I never even noticed the little 'journal' button.

Neeways, why do I keep a tfp journal? You'll have to read my journal to find out.

oberon

I have a LiveJournal already, so I don't keep a TFP one. I would rather keep my LJ because it's public, as opposed to TFP journals which are only visible to TFP members.

I keep my journal as a way to see how I change over the years. I used to keep it on paper (starting in 1993) or on my computer (starting in 1997), but decided to put it up for public viewing some time ago. Although until 2002-2003ish, the entries were relatively infrequent (as in every few months or sometimes years). Anyway, sometimes I get feedback from my friends regarding how to handle some situations, which is nice.

I occasionally read other members' journals, and find them fascinating. Often, they are more personal perspectives than would be allowed on the boards. I read my friends' LJs too.

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"There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught." -- Irish proverb