Enjoyed this post! And I can relate to having old journals whose notes feel like "a dispatch sent across time by my younger self." Not always sure what to make of them, but in hindsight I'm sure glad they exist to be revisited, pondered, sometimes laughed at, worked into a larger project, etc.
As someone who has also kept every journal or diary I've had since I was a child, I absolutely love this archivist perspective and treating your diaries a keys to a new understanding of yourself. Great piece.
You're so welcome. Making people feel less alone is one of the greatest things I could hope for as a writer. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond :)
Jesi, I was incredibly moved by this. So much of what you wrote resonates — the secret belief that the journals might one day matter, the push-pull between private chaos and narrative form, and that aching, persistent question: Can someone please find the story in this formless mess?
I’m a writer (and UN investigator by day), and for years I only wrote privately — mostly in morning journals after yoga, or late at night, scribbling down the residue of war zones and heartbreaks. I never imagined those fragments could become anything. But recently I started a Substack, and one of my first pieces was exactly about this process of “writing myself back into being” — mining the raw material of my notebooks to make meaning, to remember, to reassemble.
Your line “the universe may be made of stories, but unlike atoms, stories must be made” will stay with me. Thank you for the reminder that the mess matters, that the spiral bounds and stickered covers hold something sacred. If you’re curious, here’s the piece I wrote on this very theme: https://fieldnotesfromthespine.substack.com/p/reading-myself-back-into-being
Sol, I read your piece and you are such a beautiful writer. And I'm also shook by the similarities in our reflections. As you've been traveling the world, doing your investigations, I've been doing my own investigations of lives lived in New York, London, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington State. It's remarkable isn't it. Thank you so much for commenting and sharing your post. I loved it.
Jesi, many thanks for your beautiful words. I’m very new to Substack - fantastic mean to share my writing (which I’ve never done….). your generous words mean the world to me, thank you
Also, I hadn't realized until today , when I reread your piece about professionalism, that your writing has made a tangible impact on my life!! I've shifted how I present myself in cover letters and interviews and, in the midst of all this "being real," fingers crossed, I may have found a new position.
Also, I was unaware of the STAR template for interview stories and not only have I started to use it but I shared the model with someone who was interviewing me (for this potential communications position) and she was fascinated.
So thank you again for being the writer and person you are. Your work has made a difference in my life ❤️
Oh wow -- thank you for the message. I hadn't seen it and am certain I have a lot in me about food insecurity. Even though I'm also mid-revision on a book draft, I'm going tostart some notes for this.
This resonates with me. I had a friend who said he wished he’d kept a journal while he served in WWII, so when I left for the military, I started a journal, and never stopped. I survived between the pages during certain years, when my words were my only friends.
They can be such a great source for memories, what was going on in the world at the time, and what life was like in general.
I agree so much. Definitely. Lately, especially, I've been taken care to weave in current events because it is easy for me to turn so far inward that the larger context of my experience gets lost and as a writer (and former grad student) historical context is enormously important to me.
Enjoyed this post! And I can relate to having old journals whose notes feel like "a dispatch sent across time by my younger self." Not always sure what to make of them, but in hindsight I'm sure glad they exist to be revisited, pondered, sometimes laughed at, worked into a larger project, etc.
It's been a precarious journey since I haven't always had the space for them, but now that I do, I'm also very glad I've held on to them.
As someone who has also kept every journal or diary I've had since I was a child, I absolutely love this archivist perspective and treating your diaries a keys to a new understanding of yourself. Great piece.
Thanks Molly :)
Beautiful. I relate to this so much. Makes me feel less alone in as I wrestle in the messy raw material of my own life🌸 thank you
You're so welcome. Making people feel less alone is one of the greatest things I could hope for as a writer. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond :)
Jesi, I was incredibly moved by this. So much of what you wrote resonates — the secret belief that the journals might one day matter, the push-pull between private chaos and narrative form, and that aching, persistent question: Can someone please find the story in this formless mess?
I’m a writer (and UN investigator by day), and for years I only wrote privately — mostly in morning journals after yoga, or late at night, scribbling down the residue of war zones and heartbreaks. I never imagined those fragments could become anything. But recently I started a Substack, and one of my first pieces was exactly about this process of “writing myself back into being” — mining the raw material of my notebooks to make meaning, to remember, to reassemble.
Your line “the universe may be made of stories, but unlike atoms, stories must be made” will stay with me. Thank you for the reminder that the mess matters, that the spiral bounds and stickered covers hold something sacred. If you’re curious, here’s the piece I wrote on this very theme: https://fieldnotesfromthespine.substack.com/p/reading-myself-back-into-being
In solidarity,
Sol
Sol, I read your piece and you are such a beautiful writer. And I'm also shook by the similarities in our reflections. As you've been traveling the world, doing your investigations, I've been doing my own investigations of lives lived in New York, London, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington State. It's remarkable isn't it. Thank you so much for commenting and sharing your post. I loved it.
Jesi, many thanks for your beautiful words. I’m very new to Substack - fantastic mean to share my writing (which I’ve never done….). your generous words mean the world to me, thank you
Jesi, have you seen this call? https://opensecretsmagazine.com/p/lit-mag-personal-essay-writing-guidelines?selection=90b19e1b-9773-4a62-9c7a-da91f3bdfdc1
Also, I hadn't realized until today , when I reread your piece about professionalism, that your writing has made a tangible impact on my life!! I've shifted how I present myself in cover letters and interviews and, in the midst of all this "being real," fingers crossed, I may have found a new position.
Also, I was unaware of the STAR template for interview stories and not only have I started to use it but I shared the model with someone who was interviewing me (for this potential communications position) and she was fascinated.
So thank you again for being the writer and person you are. Your work has made a difference in my life ❤️
Oh wow -- thank you for the message. I hadn't seen it and am certain I have a lot in me about food insecurity. Even though I'm also mid-revision on a book draft, I'm going tostart some notes for this.
This resonates with me. I had a friend who said he wished he’d kept a journal while he served in WWII, so when I left for the military, I started a journal, and never stopped. I survived between the pages during certain years, when my words were my only friends.
They can be such a great source for memories, what was going on in the world at the time, and what life was like in general.
I agree so much. Definitely. Lately, especially, I've been taken care to weave in current events because it is easy for me to turn so far inward that the larger context of my experience gets lost and as a writer (and former grad student) historical context is enormously important to me.