Dear Diary?

"WHAT is my life trying to become and where am I now in the movement of my life?"

Pretty deep, but the person who said that, psychologist Ira Progoff, said one way to keep track of all that is to regularly write in a journal. But what do you put in a journal? How personal, how trivial do you make it?

Erica Johnson, a student at Stevens Point Area Senior High, regularly writes in her journal, and here she tells how she goes about it:

Two summers ago, I went on a three-week biology field studies trip. As one of our main projects, we each had to keep a daily journal. Our instructor, Vic, gave us an outline to follow.

Since that trip, I have been keeping a journal fairly consistently. My journal is a great place for me to write down my feelings, jokes I heard that day, a new quote that might some day come in handy or a book I want to read when I have the time. I don't feel that I have to write down every detail and I usually don't.

I generally follow the format that Vic gave us as a guide.

In the first section, I write down the basic happenings of the day and the things that struck me as interesting.

The second section is called relating. I think about what I just wrote and relate it to other times in my life. I am usually reminded of another time I might have done the same thing, or I might think of something I'd like to do in the future like go on a picnic or travel to Singapore. No matter how trivial these things might be, they give me something to think about.

The third section is called creating. Even though I'm a terrible artist, I love this section. Since nobody else will see my journal (I hope) I can do whatever I want and it doesn't matter how funny it might look.

Sometimes I draw pictures of flowers, trees, snow or my friends. Other times I write a poem or tape in an article or comic I read that day. Every once in a while I get ambitious and try to write a story. Since this section is called the creative section, it doesn't matter what goes in it.

The final section is the easiest. I just leave a paragraph blank so I can go back later and read what I've written. Then I can use the blank space to jot down notes or put in pictures that might have been taken that day.

Keeping a journal is important because it helps me set aside time every day for myself. Usually, I write before bed and it calms me down after a hectic day. When I feel the urge I can look back and read about what I was doing as far back as two years ago or as recently as last week. Often my journal helps me put my life in perspective. I know it won't tell anyone my secrets and I can be myself when I write in it.

Overall, a journal is a good thing for me. When it's hard to get started, I just keep at it because I know when I'm rich and famous someone will pay millions of dollars for it.

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