My Old Journal: The Wrap-Up

NaBloPoMo – Day Thirty

The Last Day!

Well, we made it to the last day of NaBloPoMo! For National Blog Posting Month, I dissected my old journal. This was a journal I started when I was in high school and kept all through high school and college. As a Wrap-Up, here are some questions I’d like to address:

What has been the most challenging part of NaBloPoMo?
The answer to this is twofold. Firstly, I’m glad I have GoogleReader, because it would be nearly impossible to stay on top of all my favorite blogs. I love reading everyone’s posts, and when I have some down-time, I like to go back and re-read things I may have missed. Secondly, deciding which entries in my old journal to showcase was a challenge. I wrote a LOT. Overall, I think I did a good job of getting a good cross-section of journal entries.

What has been my favorite part of NaBloPoMo?
The answer to this one is twofold as well. I must say, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading all of my favorite bloggers! I love reading blogs on the weekends, and before NaBloPoMo, the pickin’s were slim. I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed reading my old journal and sharing parts of it on my blog. I love writing every day. And, this actually brings me to my next question…

Will I continue to post every day?
Since this is actually my 114th consecutive day of posting, the OCD-part of my psyche screams, “YES OF COURSE!! WHY WOULDN’T SHE!? MUST POST TOMORROW…” And, I am curious as to how far I can go. But, those voices are drowned out by the more rational, “Probably. Maybe not. It’s okay if I don’t. I’m not going to stress about it.” Blogging is supposed to be calming, cathartic, and fun. The last thing I need is another “have-to-do” on my plate, thankyouverymuch.

What I have I learned from this experience?
Wow…there’s a lot I’d forgotten about! It’s amazing to me how many things were so important at the time, and rightly so. I know that had I not written about them at the time, they would not even be on my radar now. I guess that’s a good thing. That’s how we grow up and move on, right? It was also very freeing to read through the angst from where I am now. I survived. I reached my goals. I still have things I want to accomplish, and it’s empowering to see how far I’ve come. That’s a very cool thing and not something I expected to gain from this experience.

How can I take what I’ve learned and apply it to my life now?
This is a huge incentive to keep writing! There are so many things that Claire does that I think, “Oh, that’s so cute! How could I ever forget that?” There are so many things that I feel as a new mother or as someone who is trying to work from home while wrangling a toddler, and I want to learn from all of this. Well, if NaBloPoMo has been any indication, I won’t remember any of it if I don’t write it down. In fact, I can’t wait to look back at this, years from now. Maybe I’ll do another NaBloPoMo at that time and showcase my early days as a newbie-blogger.

So, there ya have it. To all of you who participated in NaBloPoMo, congrats! It’s been a fun ride. I wonder where we’re headed next?