Is Journalling Private?

Your journal is just for you, right? So you can write however or whatever you like. But what if you came to an untimely end? We will all die somethime. Your journals could easily be read by someone who was never meant to read them. So how freely can we really write?

This is the paradox of journalling. Is our journal truly honest or are we always editing it just a little for an imaginary audience? I find there is usually a tiny voice in the back of my mind wondering ‘What if somebody else reads this?’

Let’s take for example the Diary of Anne Frank. Anne wrote the diary whilst in hiding from the Nazis in World War II. After the war her father - Otto Frank, the only family member who survived - was given a number of papers that included Anne’s writings and decided to publish them. But he edited them before doing so. He cut out sections where Anne critised her mother and also some explicit references to sexuality. I wonder what Anne would think about how her private thoughts were treated after her death?

There are ways, of course to try to protect our journals. You might add a not like ‘Do Not Read’ to the cover or the file name. Would that really stop anyone or just make them all the more curious? You could use passwords or encryptions or leave instructions in your will.

Still, I think for me there will always be a little self-censorship in my journalling. Maybe it’s just human nature.

Would you be comfortable if your journal were read tomorrow? What would it say about you?