"On Keeping a Journal"

Didion brings up a whole new way to write in a journal. She is able to show readers that journal entries do not have to conform to the "typical" journal entry of writing about one's day, instead she is able to reach out and reveal what a journal entry could be. It is very creative how she jots down what is going on around her, such as conversations and random facts, and is able to use them to recall meaningful events.
What shocked me the most about Didion is that she was a gifted writer at the age of 5. I was very impressed to read that she was able to write such an exotic and ironic story about a woman who found herself in the Artic, almost freezing to death, then later dying in the Sahara Desert from a heat stroke, at such and early age!! When I was five I remember being so proud of a drawing I did because my mom liked it so much that she framed it and hung it in my bedroom. Although my art work(... finger paintings :)... ) was framed it does not compare to writing a story such as Didion's.
I noticed that Didion's usage of the phrase "how it felt to me" reveals a certian way of how she writes in her notebook. She uses notes such as a recipie for sauerkraut to remind her of the first time she made it and "felt safe" being with company, listening to the rain and Atlantic. Even though that particular event may not have had much excitement , it was an important memory for her and the best way for her to remember how she felt was to write the recipe down in her journal.
When Didion recommended to use a notebook to "keep in touch" with ourselves I did not fully understand what she meant. Then she pointed out that she started to loose touch with who she was when she was 17 and 23 and wishes she was able to feel what it was like again. I now realize the meaning of keeping in touch. Not only is it important to write down important occurences, but also to write how we felt when they occured. Writing down feelings brings a whole different way to remembering; not only do you remember what happend, but you also remember how you felt during the occurence. This can actually make a person feel as if the occurence was happening at the moment thus making it possible to never loose touch.
Reading this article by Didion made me to start thinking about starting up a journal. It would be wonderful to have precious memories and feelings stored in a place that I can look back to if I ever start to loose touch. Maybe instead of writing I can put pictures to remind me.