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Brett and Kate McKay
Why Keep a Journal
1. Your children and grandchildren will want to read it. I know it’s
hard to believe right now. Your life probably seems quite ordinary and
of little interest to anyone else. And every generation believes that life
will pretty much continue on like it is now. When your great-grandpa
was kicking it in the 1920s, he thought to himself, “Who would want
to read about this new fangled radio or how I get my food out of an
icebox? Phhht! That’s boring stuff!” But it’s not boring anymore; to
this generation, such a peek at the olden days is fascinating. And so it
is with you. When your grandkids are talking to people via hologram,
they are going to be absolutely fascinated by your impressions of those
ancient things like cell phones. And unfortunately, they’re not going
to be curious about it until they get into their 20s, realize you’re going
to die, and start asking you questions.
Trust me, while you think that you’ll be able to remember everything
just as clearly in the future, you won’t. Remember when you were a kid
and you thought your experiences would be easily recalled at age 30?
Now what do you remember from those days besides that time a dog
bit you in the face?
As each year passes, the pixels of our memories burn out and the
haze sets in. By age 80, you’ll only remember the faintest outlines of
the big things that happened to you. But the stuff that’s really interesting
is often the little, seemingly mundane details of life. What was
a man’s daily routine like in 2009? Of course, the whippersnappers
will ask you about the big stuff too: “Where were you when you found
out about the attacks on the World Trade Center?” and “What did
you think about the election of Barack Obama?” Your journals will
give them the answers they’ll be looking for and will bring you closer.
And who knows? Maybe the whole world might be interested in
your musings someday. You may not think so now, but how many
famous men knew that they would be famous before they actually
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