As a result of all the technology available to us, handwritten documentation is becoming endangered.
Communication through pen and paper is getting replaced with social networking and emails that are typed. The words are personal but the signature handwriting of that person is replaced with type fonts.
I feel very strongly that people’s handwriting needs to be preserved.
I love that we still have my husband’s great-granddad’s handwritten ledgers of the ranch’s operation a hundred years ago and all of my father-in-law’s record books.
I find what these men thought was important enough to write down on a particular day in their distinct handwriting, fascinating reading.
Items such as journals are a person’s legacy and especially with loved ones who have passed on, anything that’s handwritten become cherished heirlooms. Pictures are wonderful keepsakes, but handwritten cards, letters, journals, and notes are all part of what made that person unique. I consider these items just as valuable if not more valuable, than photos.
Handwriting is as unique to a person as much as their voice, hands, fingerprints, or eyes are. What someone writes in a journal reflects their personality and can be a treasured keepsake.
Keeping a journal doesn’t have to be done every day unless the journaler prefers it that way. I journal whenever I feel like it. It may be weeks, days months, or even years, depending on what I keep a journal for (I have many). What you journal about is up to you and that doesn’t have to be difficult either.
Journals are a place to think on paper, remember (short-term or long-term) stuff, vent, heal, appreciate, save or collect things (movie ticket stubs, cards, notes, concert programs, etc.), organize, and of course, to record special events and the like.
Journaling is my mental therapy. The blank pages I fill up are the dumping ground of my mind like a mental landfill. It’s how I sort stuff out that’s floating around in my head and helps me organize my thoughts. I usually journal when I’m in the mood but I especially like to write down events that happen on our ranch that I want a record of for my kids’ sake and future generations. It’s usually mundane stuff but won’t be considered as such years from now.
Sometimes all I journal is stuff I have to do so I don’t have keep worrying that I’ll forget. Other times it’s what I’m troubled over. I very rarely journal about current events in the news and I seldom read back over my recent entries.
My journal entries aren’t secretive either. I know someday my kids will read them and I hope that they will. I want my kids and grandkids to have a handwritten account of my thoughts, interests, ideas, dreams and goals. Short notes summarizing my day is all it takes if I don’t have a lot of time and can easily be done on a calendar or planner.
So I ask you, what will people know about you in a hundred years? Why not tell them now?