I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the short trip down memory Lane, Martha! Also happy to hear I am not the only one who pitched those journals! I also have scattered pieces of paper, cards and random torn quotations that are tucked inside my journal of quotations as well as propped up against the bookcase in my office in hopes that they get noticed now and again. xx
Yes, I've written journals over the years. Sometimes I've read them. They are still around and will probably be up for evaluation as to whether I keep them or not. I like the idea of saving quotations and wish I had done that too. The best thing about our last high school yearbook is that each senior had a page where they could put the pictures and words they wanted. I should read again to see how we all were at that time. What I like about staying in touch with our high school friends is that we have all grown into really interesting adults. We don't have to live in the past to enjoy each other's company.
I love your comment about not having to live in the past to enjoy each other's company. Pure gold, that! Let me know if you find any treasures and insights in your journals, if you open them again.
Wow, Sabrina. I loved this one so much. I still keep a Word doc of favorite quotations and a separate one of favorite poems on my laptop; at my age it may be too late for serious memorization to take place - hell, sometimes it feels like a major victory if I remember to put pants on! - but I like having them close at hand. And, like you, Teenaged Me found deep wisdom in song lyrics: the Dead, for sure, and Dylan, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Neil Young, so many others (apparently Teenaged Me was a bit of a sexist. And thanks for the Jesse Colin Young and Sons of Champlin shoutouts; to me, Song for Juli is still the quintessential Marin-in-the-‘70s album (specifically “Ridgetop”).
Oh I'm so happy to hear it resonated with you. I wan't sure if it was too self-indulgent. And perhaps it is, but I am hoping there are a few others who mooned over lyrics and poems like we did back then. I loved those same Marin singers so much for how they represented our home place both when we were there, and even more once we had moved away and I was homesick...Thanks for chiming in! 🎼🎼🎧
Oh, how I enjoyed reading this! I wish I had a collection of sayings and prose like that, especially going back so far. I’ve kept journals and have lugged them from place to place expecting to read them. I like how you figured it out. Best regards, dear friend.
Thanks Amy! You would likely recognise the high school years quotations...so many are from our assigned readings and the music we listened to. Hope you are well!
Sabrina, this post is utterly delicious - what a wonderful, wonderful exploration of your past words, and to learn what keeping those words has meant to you now that you're reading them again. Just glorious.
I wish I had a history of keeping diaries, and - if I had - to have kept them all.
I wish I'd had the gift of hindsight and known what to value instead of throwing it away.
I wish I'd kept letters I've been sent, and copies of letters that I've sent to others.
Oh, thanks so much Rebecca. Those words mean a lot. I was wondering if you had written a journal when you were younger, and if you were a keeper of such things. Now you've answered my questions! ❤️ It's so hard to know what we will value in the future, isn't it?
While I attempted journaling at various points in my life, I was never consistent and finally drifted away. Plus when I reread them, it was just too embarrassing! Quotations, on the other hand, have always held an allure. I also have a word doc with my collection of quotations with my two favorite: "No pressure, no diamonds," is a quote attributed to Thomas Carlyle and must have occurred in my career phase and then as I moved on into motherhood, "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much." Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Thanks for sharing, Sabrina! I love your essays.
Thanks for your comment Judy! I've never heard the no pressure, no diamonds quotation! I think it is good in the work situation. Not sure if I could have taken the added 'pressure' of the child-rearing one as a constant reminder, though! 🤪...xx
YES to most of your questions there at the end. I've always collected quotations and often memorized them. I don't know how I've missed the word "kipple" until today, given my husband's long-lived love of Philip K. Dick and Bladerunner. That word unfortunately describes all the random boxes et al that I've insisted we bring with us for every move over the past 25 years. The only good thing about kipple: when I feel the need to switch around furniture, I can "shop" our basement.
Love this Erin! I'm so delighted to hear you are a fellow collector of quotations! And I especially love your idea of shopping the collection in the basement! Brilliant way to keep things around while still mixing things up. If only we had a basement....oh, wait, don't get me started on storage again!
What a trip down memory lane, Sabrina, thank you! Great choice of songs...wow, they totally take me back to those fondly remembered high school years. I have always loved collecting quotations and passages, but haven’t been quite as organized as you and others - I have a somewhat ragtag collection of print outs, hand written quotations etc. stashed around in various places, none of which I can bring myself to part with! My journals (scant as they were) are another story - I’ve tossed them because rereading them was more painful than fulfilling, and I didn’t want that weight (as you so accurately described) hanging around.
I’m confident you will really enjoy reading Mary Oliver! She has some truly lovely poems.
Oh Sabrina, I wish, I wish, I wish I had kept a journal of sayings when I was younger. You were clever and insightful.
Even now, I keep saying I must write that down and then something happens to drag me away and I forget.
It really came to the fore when I was introduced to Henry Beston's The Outermost House by Tom Ryan Author. And then through his own writings he introduced me to Mary Oliver and Henry Thoreau and I suddenly realised that I had missed so much! Even Matthew McConaughey's Green Lights has some pearlers.
It's wisdom of the world and I guess recording it gives us beautiful things to read in a soulful hour, whenever that might creep upon us.
Thanks Prue, I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed it. I wish I still was writing things down more consistently, as I do like to return to phrases that bring me solace or spur me on. I often write several quotations at the front of each blank planner book, which lasts about 4-6 months. That gives me a chance to collect a few phrases that are meaningful at the time and that I want guiding me in the next few months, but I'm not very consistent with that practice.
I too have only recently heard of Mary Oliver, and look forward to reading more of her words.
I love this wonderful piece: your handwriting in those days and everytime received an envelope with those loopy letters I knew it was from you and I was thrilled; the quotations that brought back memories of what we talked and thought about - sometimes heady stuff in our teenage brains; and those black-bound journals with blank pages. I think they must have been cool at the time because of all us trying so hard to be cool had them.
I lost my journals in a theft. When that happened, I was devastated that those were gone on top of everything else. Fortunately, I have piles of letters that my mother kept but I haven't had time or energy to go through many of them. The best thing about the letters when I found and read after my mother died was seeing that in every single letter I told my parents how much I loved and missed them. Then and now, that was the most important thing I could learn about myself.
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the short trip down memory Lane, Martha! Also happy to hear I am not the only one who pitched those journals! I also have scattered pieces of paper, cards and random torn quotations that are tucked inside my journal of quotations as well as propped up against the bookcase in my office in hopes that they get noticed now and again. xx
Yes, I've written journals over the years. Sometimes I've read them. They are still around and will probably be up for evaluation as to whether I keep them or not. I like the idea of saving quotations and wish I had done that too. The best thing about our last high school yearbook is that each senior had a page where they could put the pictures and words they wanted. I should read again to see how we all were at that time. What I like about staying in touch with our high school friends is that we have all grown into really interesting adults. We don't have to live in the past to enjoy each other's company.
I love your comment about not having to live in the past to enjoy each other's company. Pure gold, that! Let me know if you find any treasures and insights in your journals, if you open them again.
That was more than evident during our San Francisco evening last Spring. Thank you for bringing us together.
Wow, Sabrina. I loved this one so much. I still keep a Word doc of favorite quotations and a separate one of favorite poems on my laptop; at my age it may be too late for serious memorization to take place - hell, sometimes it feels like a major victory if I remember to put pants on! - but I like having them close at hand. And, like you, Teenaged Me found deep wisdom in song lyrics: the Dead, for sure, and Dylan, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Neil Young, so many others (apparently Teenaged Me was a bit of a sexist. And thanks for the Jesse Colin Young and Sons of Champlin shoutouts; to me, Song for Juli is still the quintessential Marin-in-the-‘70s album (specifically “Ridgetop”).
Oh I'm so happy to hear it resonated with you. I wan't sure if it was too self-indulgent. And perhaps it is, but I am hoping there are a few others who mooned over lyrics and poems like we did back then. I loved those same Marin singers so much for how they represented our home place both when we were there, and even more once we had moved away and I was homesick...Thanks for chiming in! 🎼🎼🎧
Oh, how I enjoyed reading this! I wish I had a collection of sayings and prose like that, especially going back so far. I’ve kept journals and have lugged them from place to place expecting to read them. I like how you figured it out. Best regards, dear friend.
Thanks Amy! You would likely recognise the high school years quotations...so many are from our assigned readings and the music we listened to. Hope you are well!
Sabrina, this post is utterly delicious - what a wonderful, wonderful exploration of your past words, and to learn what keeping those words has meant to you now that you're reading them again. Just glorious.
I wish I had a history of keeping diaries, and - if I had - to have kept them all.
I wish I'd had the gift of hindsight and known what to value instead of throwing it away.
I wish I'd kept letters I've been sent, and copies of letters that I've sent to others.
Thank you so much for a wonderful read.
Oh, thanks so much Rebecca. Those words mean a lot. I was wondering if you had written a journal when you were younger, and if you were a keeper of such things. Now you've answered my questions! ❤️ It's so hard to know what we will value in the future, isn't it?
😘
While I attempted journaling at various points in my life, I was never consistent and finally drifted away. Plus when I reread them, it was just too embarrassing! Quotations, on the other hand, have always held an allure. I also have a word doc with my collection of quotations with my two favorite: "No pressure, no diamonds," is a quote attributed to Thomas Carlyle and must have occurred in my career phase and then as I moved on into motherhood, "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much." Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Thanks for sharing, Sabrina! I love your essays.
Thanks for your comment Judy! I've never heard the no pressure, no diamonds quotation! I think it is good in the work situation. Not sure if I could have taken the added 'pressure' of the child-rearing one as a constant reminder, though! 🤪...xx
YES to most of your questions there at the end. I've always collected quotations and often memorized them. I don't know how I've missed the word "kipple" until today, given my husband's long-lived love of Philip K. Dick and Bladerunner. That word unfortunately describes all the random boxes et al that I've insisted we bring with us for every move over the past 25 years. The only good thing about kipple: when I feel the need to switch around furniture, I can "shop" our basement.
Love this Erin! I'm so delighted to hear you are a fellow collector of quotations! And I especially love your idea of shopping the collection in the basement! Brilliant way to keep things around while still mixing things up. If only we had a basement....oh, wait, don't get me started on storage again!
What a trip down memory lane, Sabrina, thank you! Great choice of songs...wow, they totally take me back to those fondly remembered high school years. I have always loved collecting quotations and passages, but haven’t been quite as organized as you and others - I have a somewhat ragtag collection of print outs, hand written quotations etc. stashed around in various places, none of which I can bring myself to part with! My journals (scant as they were) are another story - I’ve tossed them because rereading them was more painful than fulfilling, and I didn’t want that weight (as you so accurately described) hanging around.
I’m confident you will really enjoy reading Mary Oliver! She has some truly lovely poems.
Thank you again for your captivating writing!
Oh Sabrina, I wish, I wish, I wish I had kept a journal of sayings when I was younger. You were clever and insightful.
Even now, I keep saying I must write that down and then something happens to drag me away and I forget.
It really came to the fore when I was introduced to Henry Beston's The Outermost House by Tom Ryan Author. And then through his own writings he introduced me to Mary Oliver and Henry Thoreau and I suddenly realised that I had missed so much! Even Matthew McConaughey's Green Lights has some pearlers.
It's wisdom of the world and I guess recording it gives us beautiful things to read in a soulful hour, whenever that might creep upon us.
Thank you for a super post.
Thanks Prue, I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed it. I wish I still was writing things down more consistently, as I do like to return to phrases that bring me solace or spur me on. I often write several quotations at the front of each blank planner book, which lasts about 4-6 months. That gives me a chance to collect a few phrases that are meaningful at the time and that I want guiding me in the next few months, but I'm not very consistent with that practice.
I too have only recently heard of Mary Oliver, and look forward to reading more of her words.
I love this wonderful piece: your handwriting in those days and everytime received an envelope with those loopy letters I knew it was from you and I was thrilled; the quotations that brought back memories of what we talked and thought about - sometimes heady stuff in our teenage brains; and those black-bound journals with blank pages. I think they must have been cool at the time because of all us trying so hard to be cool had them.
I lost my journals in a theft. When that happened, I was devastated that those were gone on top of everything else. Fortunately, I have piles of letters that my mother kept but I haven't had time or energy to go through many of them. The best thing about the letters when I found and read after my mother died was seeing that in every single letter I told my parents how much I loved and missed them. Then and now, that was the most important thing I could learn about myself.