Jot it down and forget about it: The value of a diary

I never wrote a diary. A diary is something for sensitive people who need to process something and you rarely judge yourself like that... In hindsight, it might have done me good in a few moments.

What I've been doing instead is writing a travel blog, especially during my year-long stay in Canada. Of course, it typically went in the following phases:

  1. Phase: Completely hyped, motivated to write a lot, felt like I was uploading an article a day.
  2. Phase: You realise that the journey also has a lot to offer, but try to stay true to your plan, blog entries every few months.
  3. Phase: Then it's been too long since the last entry, you really want to write something about what happened in between, but you fail due to excessive demands and simply forgotten moments, therefore postpone it to phase 4.
  4. Phase: The blog is shut down. A few posts are still somewhat readable and it is accessed sporadically to look at the photos again.

Let's see if this blog will go through the same phases. At the moment, I'm definitely hyped again.

To be honest, I admire people who keep a diary. I know someone who wrote down a few sentences every day for several years. What a unique memory that is! Will you read it again? Probably not. Is it an annoying burden if you take on too much? Probably yes.

Another aspect is the question of privacy. A diary is usually not intended for the public. You share your feelings and thoughts on a few pages. We are more used to keeping something like this to ourselves. It takes years to build up a distance that allows you to slowly laugh about your former self and perhaps even share your diaries with close friends.

Is this blog even a diary? I'm not sensitive. Well, on the other hand, probably nobody reads it anyway and it will certainly be an annoying burden at times. And even with all openness, we certainly won't share the same things that we would reveal to an innocent diary.

The texts that are published here are rather intended to inspire and perhaps give food for thought. As we move from place to place and continent to continent over the next few months, we will learn and absorb so much. The purpose of this blog is to process what we get to know and share it with our families, friends and acquaintances.

The world is neutral in itself, but it is what we do with it that makes it what it is.

Oh, there was something else...

Written in: Köln, Deutschland
Music recommendation: Steppin‘ Out With My Baby, Fred Astaire

Fun fact:
How much is Cologne Cathedral worth? According to an annual balance sheet from the archdiocese, 27 euros! That's how much value the famous building was estimated. The archbishopric's reasoning: it could never be sold and its maintenance costs a fortune.

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