Hello friends!
This is the shortest blog post I’ve ever made, but I’m confident it will prove valuable for many of you out there.
Around 7 years ago, while I was on the plane to Australia to begin my first solo traveling adventure, I had a very random idea that culminated into something I am immensely grateful for today.
I started a LIFE DIARY.
Basically, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, went allllllll the way back to the earliest memory of my entire life, and did my best to work my way through each year of the brain files in chronological order, jotting down all of all best, worst, and overall most significant moments of my life that have made me into the man I am today.
I had no idea what this random idea would turn into, but as I write this post now in 2025, the document that began with a few scribbles on that plane 7 years ago has exploded into a beautiful clusterfuck of bullet points scattered across over 50 pages, which I continue to add to whenever inspiration strikes.
And let me tell you…it has been SUCH a pleasure building it.
Roughly once every 6 months or so, I’ll carve out a night to kick back on the couch, close my eyes like I did on that first day, and think back on the highs and lows of the last slice of time since I’d updated the document.
And every time, it brings me great joy to not just think back on these memories pleasurably, but to have that peace of mind knowing that everything I record on paper is permanently saved, protected from fading into the dark abyss of forgotten memories.
If this sounds like something you’d find enjoyable to make yourself, here’s how I’ve organized mine, which you can use as a launching point to curate your own outline however you see fit:
CHRONOLOGICAL
– Early childhood
– Middle School / High School
– College
– Post-college / Early travels (2017-2020)
– 2021-Present
OTHER / MISCELLANEOUS
– Best moments
– Worst moments
– Hardest laughs
– Most important lessons learned
– Music and songs that bring back specific memories
You can make these sections as neat or as messy as you like – just like any diary. Personally I just have each one loaded with a bulleted list of the moments that stick out to me as the most significant, that I know I’ll enjoy looking back on until the day I die. Maybe someday I’ll go through and clean it up with more neat sections, but for now, I enjoy the fitting chaos of it all.
And just like any diary, remember…The more detailed you can get about these memories, the better. So if something particularly amazing, terrible, or hilarious happens to you on any given day – whip out your notepad and pour out all of your thoughts onto the page! Your future self will appreciate the added color.
That’s pretty much it, folks! Like I said – very short one.
I hope this inspires a few people out there to start something similar for themselves; I can say without a doubt it has been a super fun project for me, and continues to inspire me to take more risks, say “Yes” to more interesting experiences, and live a generally more epic life.
Gotta do it for the diary entry, right?
-Ben
