Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Did anybody else used to keep a diary?

21 replies

Mojodojocasahaus · 23/12/2023 00:12

I kept a diary religiously from the ages of 11 to
15 (evidently that was when life became
more interesting) I would love to read them but they’re in the cot loft at my parents house.

I’m struck by how much time my diary took. I would never get that time now to write down my innermost feelings. I would love to be a person that kept a diary all my life. What are your thoughts/experiences?

OP posts:
Teasie123 · 23/12/2023 00:14

Omg, I did! I still have it and every now and then I LL read it. The memories it brings back are irreplaceable.🤗🤗

WantToChangeUsername · 23/12/2023 00:21

I used to keep a diary, until I was probably 14/15. Don't know what made me stop.
Had a huge clear out when I was starting uni, and got rid of my diary :( would have been interesting to read now, as a mum of dc similar age.

Original poster
Mojodojocasahaus · 23/12/2023 00:24

That’s lovely @Teasie123 I remember writing at 12 that I’d done something so dirty and unforgivable I could never confess- I’d tried my first cigarette 😂

OP posts:
Original poster
Mojodojocasahaus · 23/12/2023 00:25

@WantToChangeUsername Totally agree - would love to read what my thoughts were

OP posts:
Teasie123 · 23/12/2023 00:26

Lmao! I had a code. And still can't crack it!!🤣🤣🤣

EBearhug · 23/12/2023 01:09

From 12 to... 51 and counting.

OnSecondThoughts · 23/12/2023 01:28

Yes, but just like Teasie123 says above, I can't remember my secret code anymore!
"Jan 15th: I still fancy ADJ, but XD rem ov b/k DH!! Don't tell HJ about CF! "
Huh? What did that all mean? Who was HJ?
Mind you, I still kind of recall the gist of those strange teenage days. It was all so important, and adults would never be able to understand it, because adults have had all the emotion sucked out of them, and they let their heads rule their hearts, which is like so wrong! I swear that I will never become like that, or else I will just die. <Says my 15 year old self. And yet, sigh, here I am, having become just like that, and now I have to explain to my teen that once upon a time I felt just like they do.

Original poster
Mojodojocasahaus · 23/12/2023 08:39

@EBearhug That’s amazing - do you look back at your old ones? Must be very cool to have a record of your life

@OnSecondThoughts That made me laugh. I remember thinking exactly the same as a teen. Writing it all down was so important somehow

OP posts:
terrywynne · 23/12/2023 08:44

I did and still do ( though not as regularly). Enough time has passed that the older ones are now amusing to reread rather than embarrassing. Don't think I would read the more recent ones yet!

terrywynne · 23/12/2023 08:46

It is interesting seeing the things that I have no memory of now but were clearly huge issues in the past. No codes here but sometimes I mention things with no explanation because clearly they are something that are so self evident I will always understand the reference. Yeah, not so much!

TeenDivided · 23/12/2023 08:51

I kept a diary from when I was 12 until around 50.
I stopped when overwhelmed by life.

WavyLines11 · 23/12/2023 08:53

Yes!! I wrote in mine religiously all through my teenage years. I love looking back and while it's mainly about boys and friendship dramas it's the snippets of the more mundane/ daily life stuff that transports me right back:

"Today was well good, went up the high street and mum bought me the electric blue skirt I wanted from house of fashion- got matching nail varnish too! Had chicken and chips for tea" 🤣

Willmafrockfit · 23/12/2023 08:54

yes , sadly dm threw them out when she moved house in 2000
i guess i didnt want to reread.
they did make me cringe.
so much angst

Willmafrockfit · 23/12/2023 08:55

i also had one in my late 30s, but threw them away, after shredding!

ehb102 · 23/12/2023 09:00

I shredded my teenage diaries they were just so boring!

blackheartsgirl · 23/12/2023 09:16

I kept a diary from 13 till I was 25.

id had two children by the time I was 25 and it was lovely ti look back on those early entries after I’d had the first two dc, my early teenage years were interesting too 😂.

it’s also very sad as well because my four dc in their teens have been through so so much compared to me at their age, all I had to worry about was whether my crush noticed me falling down the school bus steps as we got on the bus at hometime!

SallyWD · 23/12/2023 09:19

Yes and I have them here. God they make me cringe!!

harete · 23/12/2023 09:21

I've kept a diary since I was 9. I threw out the oldest ones but I've kept the ones I had from age 19 or so. The past 10 years are typed and saved online. I don't always have time to write regularly but I catch up and like to keep notes on things I did, and write down thoughts I need to offload. I like that it helps me keep things to myself - I have less need to chat to others as I offload that need into writing.

EBearhug · 23/12/2023 15:21

@EBearhug That’s amazing - do you look back at your old ones? Must be very cool to have a record of your life

Sometimes. It's often very dull - "work, supermarket, yoga, TV." But other times, it's much more fun. 😉

MermaidEyes · 23/12/2023 15:52

EBearhug · 23/12/2023 01:09

From 12 to... 51 and counting.

Pretty much the same here...

PossumintheHouse · 23/12/2023 15:54

For a short time when I was a teenager. And then my odious sister read it and revealed the contents to my parents and God knows who else. Bitch.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page