Writing as a Means to Time Travel
A simple way to have direct access to the person you used to be
Similar to many other children, I had my share of diaries growing up.
I would write whatever came to mind. Some entries described my day in a superficial manner, while others included some paragraphs about whichever little boy I fancied at the time, who I thought irremediably broke my heart into many pieces.
Made-up songs, responses from interviews to my family members, and lists of my favorite songs, foods, and artists — which confirm my appreciation for lists has always been around — were also featured in the diaries.
As I grew into my teenage years, I kept writing, even if it was only once a year. Most annual entries began with an “I can’t believe another year has passed. Time truly flies”.
I would go on to describe the most relevant events of the year, how I grew, and, mostly, make fun of the entries from previous years. “How could I think like that?”, I would write — “I was so naive”.
This spiked my interest. I was, quite literally, not the same person even after just a few months and I had my thoughts written in ink to prove it. Like many before me, I found a way to time-travel the complexity of a growing brain through the simple act of writing.
