PAGES OF
isolation
Old journals have told the stories of our past and have now returned as a cathartic release during times of uncertainty.
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mages of what it means to write in a diary or keeping a journal can vary. Some may think of a young child writing their daily thoughts, feelings and impressions of the day and interactions with friends and family starting each entry with “Dear Diary.” Others may think of historical accounts that have given us perspectives or views of a particular era through the eyes of the writer. In March of 1944, the Dutch Minister of Education spoke over the radio from London. “Preserve your diaries and letters,” he said—a young girl named Anne Frank listened from her attic, where she hid for two years writing what it was like to hide in a home in Amsterdam during the Holocaust. “The most valuable [historical] diaries are the ones where they wrote down their own feelings, or
conversations they had on the street or with family, or how they felt about the persecution of the Jews,” Rene Kok, a researcher at the Dutch Archive, said. According to Chris Farina, an AP Psychology teacher at Paly, journals found from their past have been a good way to better understand what a person during that time was going through. Their words are filled with uncertainty, concern and pain that gives us a perspective of a much deeper story that we would have never been able to understand without their preserved experiences. For those that have kept diaries, reflecting on one’s own writings can be a powerful force in remembering specific or significant events in our own lives. A diary can help organize thoughts and unload frustrations, anger or disappointments. Does it ever feel
good just to get things out on paper? Did you ever wonder why that might be the case? Well, as it turns out, journaling has many ancillary health benefits, particularly with regard to your mood and mindset. “When [people journal] they are letting their guard down; they are speaking authentically, they are not trying to say something for a specific public audience … so they are not selfcentering in any way,” Farina said. Withholding your thoughts and emotions can impact your mental health, so taking the time to write what you are feeling is a great way to understand and reflect on them. Farina states how important it is to notice what has been affecting you by creating a routine like expressive writing, which can be beneficial to help clear your mind from recent experiences. According to Positive Psychology, letting your
Text by CALLUM OLSEN, RAJ SODHI and RACHAEL VONDERHAAR • Art and design by KIMI LILLIOS
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