Over the last few days, while browsing the net I’ve come across several references by people who either hope that they can leave their journals for their descendents to read, or treasure a journal written by one of their own ancestors. Unfortunately, not all of us are going to make a huge impact on history, but I think we can all write our stories as we live them!

I started my own journal yesterday in which I’m going to record as much information as I can about my family right now. My family is more and more spread over the globe every year, but luckily I’m getting a chance to visit several of them in my home country this holiday season, and I plan to take advantage of that!

You can be creative, but here are some of my plans for my journal:

Make a page for each family member at some point. This is like a scrapbook, but with more words. Include a short writing sample from each relative if I can get it. Include a mini-family tree for each relative’s page, showing their parents, siblings, spouse, and children.

Every now and then, I write about current events and how they affect me. At least it will give those grandchildren some good fodder for when they have to write essays about what it might have been like to live in our day! I’m trying to include events that might “define” this age, such as the popularity of blogging, using the internet for social networking, and the Iraq War (let’s hope that doesn’t continue on ’til our grandchildrens’ time!)

If you want to start a similar journal, but aren’t sure where to start, or that you have anything valid to say, imagine that you’re a student now and you have to write a paper about what it was like to live in the 1930’s and ’40’s. (I had to write a paper like this.) This is an interesting assignment–what information would make it easier to do? I remember trying to write about what it was like be a teenager during WWII, but the woman I interviewed had a hard time remembering. How are you affected by current events today, and if you aren’t affected, maybe you can write about why? So many possibilities!

This is a good theme for someone who seems to have trouble saving money, or just likes to keep detailed records of everything! Keep a journal of how much money you spend each week, and on what.

You can make this really creative too: I personally have a “grocery journal” along these lines, because groceries are my main spending. I track how much groceries cost, how many meals I get out of them, and whether its worth it–this is usually based on health value. For example, if I want to save a couple of dollars this week, instead of cutting down on my expensive organic vegetables, I see I can not buy cheezits, which have no nutritional value. It also doubles as a recipe book!

Here’s a fun quote to get your journaling or just general writing going today:

“A good many things go around in the dark besides Santa Claus.” – Herbert Hoover

The holidays are upon us, and sure you could be writing of fond family memories . . . but it might be fun to see where your imagination can go when you write about what might be lurking in the dark besides Santa this Christmas!