Journaling: Why keep a journal?

I'm going back to Manila tomorrow to finalize my leave-of-absence from the university (I'm taking a late gap year) and to collect the things I've left in my dormitory (God put a low ceiling price on excess baggage).

Because of this, I have been exceptionally emotional and I've been writing 5-page long entries on my journal. I think it is time that I talk about the habit of journaling. I don't know if people actually call it that but I think it will work. 

I'm a very old-fashioned person. Although I own a computer and breath WiFi, I still try to keep a good grasp on what is past. For example, I have a drawer filled with paper and envelopes because I still do send snail mail.

I also use a maroon Parker fountain pen. My eyeglasses also have lenses the size of the North Pole. When people ask me why, I tell them the large frames gets rid of blind corners but everyone knows that is not true. And an even bigger lie that I never lose pens so it is intelligent to invest.

Back to why I keep a journal.

1. It was suggested by my doctor. My mood swings are on a clinical level and it will be a strong diagnostic feature if we can map out the duration of the cycles (I've never discussed it publicly and I think I'm not ready yet so no details).

2. I am like an apple: the fat part is extroversion and the skinny, bitter core is introverted. So I have a journal and I've been thinking of punching five holes through all the pages and putting a padlock through it. There are really touchy things in my journal. When I say touchy, I don't mean my dirt. It would be the things you wish you didn't know about me and my history. They're extremely tragic.

So where else could you spill those except in a journal.

3. For fortune-telling. It is a common phrase that looking at the past is a way to see the future. That is true for journaling. A rough example would be you writing "I will jump off a cliff. " If you read that again after a week or so, the future is clear: broken ribs or death. You get what I'm saying?

Of course, it is more complex than that. It's one of those abstract things you really can't explain (and only you and your journal can understand).

4. It's cheaper than golf. My notebook is about a dollar and my pens are even more expensive than all the notebooks I've used combined. We all need a way to get by down times and journaling is the best way to go. It's cheap. There are getting fewer and fewer hobbies that are affordable. Go buy a notebook; start now!

5. A lot of great people have done it. I'm not talking about Mein Kampf. Uhm. Excuse me. Anne Frank? The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath? The list goes on and on. It's like a more intimate autobiography because the people are not conscious of publishing the journal. They're not putting up a front, but they vomit they're brains for everyone to see (bad image).

6. Improve your handwriting. I've never been modest about my good handwriting. My script looks like late 1900s and I'm proud of it because I've been practicing it for about 3 years until now. EVERYONE NEEDS GOOD PENMANSHIP TO BE REMEMBERED! Or it's just my social anxiety speaking.

That's it. Also, I'm worrying that I'm in a good mood now but I suddenly turn into a demon baby when I arrive in Manila tomorrow.

Bye!