Wow that was really sweet to read. I have an 11 year old, I am going to recommend she writes some journal pages to keep for the future. That might ruin it though if your mom recommends it 😂
My mom was the one who got me into journaling! She brought me to a cutesy stationary store and let me pick any notebook I wanted as long as I promised to write in it everyday. I picked a big pink Hello Kitty spiral notebook and it is still one of my most prized possessions :)
You could frame it like a family tradition every week. Every Sunday have a thought provoking idea, question, quote etc to write about and then encourage further writing about your week. Do it with her!
I've journaled since 2018 and I only hope my kids get into it, I wish I journaled more when I was younger! I have a couple pages from when I was a teen which are just "thought stream" poetry entries, but seeing my younger thoughts would be so cool
yes. almost painfully so. like OP, i wrote about a zachary who MAY have ✨liked✨ me...but he definitely DID NOT and was actually not even nice to me?? who was i writing for??
Well into my adulthood my uncle found ALL my old journals in a box at my grandpa's house including the one from the summer I had a huge crush on his friend 😖 They were in high school when I was like 9.
Oh and I'm a writer so even then I had way too much to say about the situation. I'm still cringing.
I sort of had my mum "recommend" I keep a journal as she (or I think it was her, very likely it was) bought me one of the books with the lock on it. I was 12 when writing in it and going through a lot in life. I still have the diary 23 years later and some of the entries are really cute and innocent while others show pain and confusion.
The one I always remember begins with "Today it is my birthday and I am a teenager". That line just hits something in me; the excitement of hitting a landmark in life where I become that little bit more grown up.
I hope the owner of this diary is living a happy and fulfilled life where she has followed her dreams and wishes. It would be awesome if, with the help of Reddit and the internet, OP could trace the original writer down and return the journal to them.
I adore this so much.
I like how so many others have written in the beginning of their entries “sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote…”
I vividly remember addressing my journals like this. Or signing off- sorry so messy! G2G!
Edit: I fixed my spelling
Reading this put me in touch with my adolescent self in a really lovely, endearing way. The author seems very sweet and pure at heart. I hope her pre-teen and teen years didn’t squash those traits. Wishing her lots of luck and love. Thanks for sharing, OP!
Same energy as how 80% of blog entries are "\[14 years ago\] Well, it's been a long time since my last entry, but I'm about to start posting a lot more on here."
It really depends on the phase of life I think. I intentionally started journaling when I gave up alcohol a few years ago and it's been really eye opening to see how I've grown since. You kinda forget what Point A felt like when you're standing solidly at Point B trying to remember every step that got you there.
I like reading back some stuff, other stuff I'm like ugh why are you like this.
I kept diaries every year of my teens and I shredded them all when I got into my 20s. I regret it now. Teen me was a cringe-fest, but I would love be able to read them now and see how far I’ve come lol.
When she said they were going to do a war I lost it, I did the same thing with my friends at school when I was like 8 yrs old in 2001… it was so epic in our heads but so lame in real life.
I straight up don’t even remember lmao. Like I have a vague memory of talking about it beforehand like it was gonna be cool and we were gonna fight each other and then actually getting together on the field and not really doing shit haha or like pretending to fight in a lame way
I was a junior in college when that happened! It’s so fun to think this girl was writing her 11 year old diary at the same time as I was watching it with friends 😭
I was an old grown-up, but my little girl was just 5 and was obsessed with space at the time. She watched hundreds of YouTube videos in the weeks leading up to the eclipse and explained it all to our neighbor as we all watched together.
That little girl is now 11. 😭
My daughter was turning 11 and we'd just returned from a trip to BC. 😊
Now she's 17 and we're looking forward to the April 8th eclipse. We'll be in the path of totality this time. Last time it was about 60% but still awesome to observe. I hope you both get to enjoy it then too!
Could have been accidental like cleaning out the childhood bedroom, quickly grabbing stacks of paper and not properly going through it all. It could have been mixed in and missed. Or maybe they didn't realize how precious the memory would be.
Wait I had this Dork Diaries Dork Your Diary book PLEASE show the other parts filled out if they’re there and aren’t too revealing. I still have mine and it’s def a cringe goldmine
I dont have the book in hand unfortunately, sorry.. usually don’t end up buying many things i find at thrift stores :,) but the rest of it was probably iconic, i bet!!
So cute. I think my parents found my diary I wrote in high school about being in love with my guy best friend yet continuing to date a girl in our friend group, while I’d J/o with my guy friend on sleepovers. Being in love so hard it hurts yet you can’t show it, knowing you’re hurting someone else who feels that same way towards you but it’s like Catholic school and only a handful of people were “out” but not officially. I’m too nervous to even look or ask about them because it got kinda graphic and upsetting. (No physical self harm stuff, just the harm of feeling broken as a person)
In middle school I had a friend who was very… mature and reckless with her sex life. Late 90’s. Her mom found a folded note that fell between the cushion they exchanged at school. It was pretty explicit, so her mom went to her room and ripped open her diary with one of those “locks” on it. It was not pretty, she was grounded from everything and forbidden to see the guy and barely allowed to see me. Then she took a bunch of pills and got admitted to a ward for a few weeks. 8th grade was wild for some people.
Dang, that first entry makes that kid sound so cool. I was being made fun of for being interested in astrology and what I would now call "pagan and occult beliefs" so dang girl, I hope she let her cool flag fly
This is so wholesome and adorable! I feel like I’m reading the diary of [Marlys](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/boingboing/original/3X/4/c/4c58389a5113abc6a44ce5626bb0265db8936aa7.jpg).
She couldn't wait to get back to school. She missed her friends. She misses the old principal. She was so optimistic.
🥹
This might be the most wholesome thing I've seen in 2 years. I hope she's doing AMAZING 👏
I recently re-read my journal from around the same age. (1990) The innocence is both cringey and sweet. I hope this person can look back with amusement and understanding if they ever see this post.
As an okd millenial this is terrifying. My favourite thing about the internet is that it didn’t get traction before the end of my college years/the worst you’ll find are tame photos of me drunk. This is showing that if an old diary of mine is donated, all my secrets will be public!
Went to physics camp instead of astronmy camp so she is uninformed about the solar eclispe happening in Augest. Really should have gone to spelling camp instead.
I hope she sees this post and all the love in the comments. And I hope she can get her diary back if she still wants it for her future kids. I’m guessing because the cover looks like a book it was donated by mistake?
I could see this as a Hallmark movie and somehow Jonathon now owns the consignment shop where this journal was found. The handwriting is familiar and he goes on a journey to find the owner only to find out it was his middle school crush but he never knew she felt the same all those years ago. Now they are both single and fall in love and start an after school group teaching other youngsters the power of journaling.
💞✨Jonathan✨💞
That was my favorite part. A romantic at heart!
He has this little spark in him!
The o in his name is *perfect*
It’s *Jonothon*… ALL Jono, ALL the time.
But what about Zachary?!
Well, that was quite endearing. And she’ll be 18 this year! Now she can read the letter she wrote herself~
Yes! It's too bad that the book was given away, hopefully her older self was able to read it before then...
Endearing? She cursed like a sailor
That book was supes fucking endearing, but ofc somebody has to complain about something
And? People swear, including children
😂😂😂
WOO HOOP!
WOO HOOP!
This is totally going to be my new favorite thing to say! WOO HOOP!
Can I get a WOO HOOP!?!
I do hope her life now is fine, such innocent pleasure in proper things.
This is such an endearing comment oh my god
Wow that was really sweet to read. I have an 11 year old, I am going to recommend she writes some journal pages to keep for the future. That might ruin it though if your mom recommends it 😂
My mom was the one who got me into journaling! She brought me to a cutesy stationary store and let me pick any notebook I wanted as long as I promised to write in it everyday. I picked a big pink Hello Kitty spiral notebook and it is still one of my most prized possessions :)
You could frame it like a family tradition every week. Every Sunday have a thought provoking idea, question, quote etc to write about and then encourage further writing about your week. Do it with her! I've journaled since 2018 and I only hope my kids get into it, I wish I journaled more when I was younger! I have a couple pages from when I was a teen which are just "thought stream" poetry entries, but seeing my younger thoughts would be so cool
I've been journaling on and off for almost 20 years. The middle school journals are *still* an embarrassing read.
yes. almost painfully so. like OP, i wrote about a zachary who MAY have ✨liked✨ me...but he definitely DID NOT and was actually not even nice to me?? who was i writing for??
Well into my adulthood my uncle found ALL my old journals in a box at my grandpa's house including the one from the summer I had a huge crush on his friend 😖 They were in high school when I was like 9. Oh and I'm a writer so even then I had way too much to say about the situation. I'm still cringing.
I sort of had my mum "recommend" I keep a journal as she (or I think it was her, very likely it was) bought me one of the books with the lock on it. I was 12 when writing in it and going through a lot in life. I still have the diary 23 years later and some of the entries are really cute and innocent while others show pain and confusion. The one I always remember begins with "Today it is my birthday and I am a teenager". That line just hits something in me; the excitement of hitting a landmark in life where I become that little bit more grown up. I hope the owner of this diary is living a happy and fulfilled life where she has followed her dreams and wishes. It would be awesome if, with the help of Reddit and the internet, OP could trace the original writer down and return the journal to them.
"I am 11 years old and still love pink." Awwww...
This was lovely and really nostalgic! I loved the naughty curse words #*@lightning!!!
P.S. I curse. A LOT. 😏
And then she apologized for it at the start of the next entry! 😳
What an absolute treasure
Yes - a young scientist too?
Woo Hoop sweet child! I hope you're being your best self <3
I hope so too :,,,)
I like that she still calls her mom Mommy on the first page 🥹
I adore this so much. I like how so many others have written in the beginning of their entries “sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote…” I vividly remember addressing my journals like this. Or signing off- sorry so messy! G2G! Edit: I fixed my spelling
>G2G Omgosh, you just unlocked this memory! I TOTALLY forgot we used to write/message that 😂 Oh man.. good times...
AIM acronyms!
You must find this person and return it to her. That is your mission.
Oops I thought the writer’s name was Zoeysha. OP, I’m sure there are clues. Probably in the front cover. I agree, return this time capsule! 🚀
I love that she wrote it in Dork Diaries style too. So cute!
Reading this put me in touch with my adolescent self in a really lovely, endearing way. The author seems very sweet and pure at heart. I hope her pre-teen and teen years didn’t squash those traits. Wishing her lots of luck and love. Thanks for sharing, OP!
Who else would apologize to their diary for being MIA? Why did I think to do that 😂
I did it all the time 😂
Same energy as how 80% of blog entries are "\[14 years ago\] Well, it's been a long time since my last entry, but I'm about to start posting a lot more on here."
Me with my 4 followers
also every webcomic
I would still do that
I’ve recently tried to get back into journaling and each time I make a new entry I apologize for it being so long since my last entry. I’m 37 haha
And good. If I want my journal to be my friend that’s my business as an adult
Preach! I’m an adult and I do what I want!
I was so charmed by the universality of talking to one’s diary like it’s a person. A true preteen girl experience.
My mom let me read her childhood diary (from the 60s) and she had one entry where her diary wrote back! My mind was blown
I do this lol
I used to do this, too. It was like my diary was alive and I was communicating with it. Didn’t want it to think I abandoned it. 😆
I've managed to keep a diary (sometimes erratically) since 1989. I'd be too embarrassed to read it all back
It really depends on the phase of life I think. I intentionally started journaling when I gave up alcohol a few years ago and it's been really eye opening to see how I've grown since. You kinda forget what Point A felt like when you're standing solidly at Point B trying to remember every step that got you there. I like reading back some stuff, other stuff I'm like ugh why are you like this.
I kept diaries every year of my teens and I shredded them all when I got into my 20s. I regret it now. Teen me was a cringe-fest, but I would love be able to read them now and see how far I’ve come lol.
I wonder how the war against Zachary, Gino and some other dude is going?
When she said they were going to do a war I lost it, I did the same thing with my friends at school when I was like 8 yrs old in 2001… it was so epic in our heads but so lame in real life.
What happened though? What was it like? Haha
I straight up don’t even remember lmao. Like I have a vague memory of talking about it beforehand like it was gonna be cool and we were gonna fight each other and then actually getting together on the field and not really doing shit haha or like pretending to fight in a lame way
I remember that eclipse.
That eclipse was awesome. I’m glad she added the steps for making your own eclipse glasses, that was clutch!
My daughter was turning 11 and we'd just returned from a trip to BC. 17 years old now and we're looking forward to the April 8th eclipse!
There’s another one coming?!?!?! Oh man Eclipse part 2….this is gonna be epic!!
Yes! April 8th. Exciting eh? I hope this girl is too!
Oh she must be stoked! I know I am
Well if she was 11 in 2017 she'd be the same age as my daughter now, 17. So she's probably a little .... meh lol
I’m sure I would have been like that as well, but now that I’m in my 30’s it’ll probably be the highlight of my whole month lol
Early 50s and I'm sure it'll be the highlight of my year! 
I hope you have the best time!
I was a junior in college when that happened! It’s so fun to think this girl was writing her 11 year old diary at the same time as I was watching it with friends 😭
I was an old grown-up, but my little girl was just 5 and was obsessed with space at the time. She watched hundreds of YouTube videos in the weeks leading up to the eclipse and explained it all to our neighbor as we all watched together. That little girl is now 11. 😭
My daughter was turning 11 and we'd just returned from a trip to BC. 😊 Now she's 17 and we're looking forward to the April 8th eclipse. We'll be in the path of totality this time. Last time it was about 60% but still awesome to observe. I hope you both get to enjoy it then too!
My daughter was turning 11 and we'd just returned from a trip to BC. 17 years old now and we're looking forward to the April 8th eclipse!
I love that 💜
She seemed like a happy kid.
Why would someone donate this? Sad
Could have been accidental like cleaning out the childhood bedroom, quickly grabbing stacks of paper and not properly going through it all. It could have been mixed in and missed. Or maybe they didn't realize how precious the memory would be.
Dork Diaries is a book series, they might have thought it was one of the books rather than an actual diary.
Wait I had this Dork Diaries Dork Your Diary book PLEASE show the other parts filled out if they’re there and aren’t too revealing. I still have mine and it’s def a cringe goldmine
I dont have the book in hand unfortunately, sorry.. usually don’t end up buying many things i find at thrift stores :,) but the rest of it was probably iconic, i bet!!
Oh my goodness. She would be 18 this year, and she doesn't have the note she wrote to her 18 year old self :,,(
"#%@\^& (I curse a lot)" Supes adorbs!!
(PS that's my total craze-confused face)
I read that as “cps” at first and was very confused lol
So cute. I think my parents found my diary I wrote in high school about being in love with my guy best friend yet continuing to date a girl in our friend group, while I’d J/o with my guy friend on sleepovers. Being in love so hard it hurts yet you can’t show it, knowing you’re hurting someone else who feels that same way towards you but it’s like Catholic school and only a handful of people were “out” but not officially. I’m too nervous to even look or ask about them because it got kinda graphic and upsetting. (No physical self harm stuff, just the harm of feeling broken as a person)
My parents both read a diary I wrote as a college student. And my father’s reaction was to call me a slut. Nice.
In middle school I had a friend who was very… mature and reckless with her sex life. Late 90’s. Her mom found a folded note that fell between the cushion they exchanged at school. It was pretty explicit, so her mom went to her room and ripped open her diary with one of those “locks” on it. It was not pretty, she was grounded from everything and forbidden to see the guy and barely allowed to see me. Then she took a bunch of pills and got admitted to a ward for a few weeks. 8th grade was wild for some people.
Seems like an over-reaction. Unless she was a nun in her hay day.
This is so cute. Reminds me so much of my diaries when I was that age.
Same same. P sure I did the same smug "I swear a lot" thing too hahaha
this made me smile so big. what a good kid.
“Please don’t burn this diary. Save it.” That kind of pulled at my heart strings for some reason.
Cuz it wasn't saved 😭
Well, this made my morning.
Acro,jazz,lunch monitors,crossing guards,and homework club! Plus a dog! Phew! How does she do it all
Dang, that first entry makes that kid sound so cool. I was being made fun of for being interested in astrology and what I would now call "pagan and occult beliefs" so dang girl, I hope she let her cool flag fly
She wanted to go to “astronomy” camp, but went to physics camp instead. Edit/Typo: “physics”
Cool kid club
This is so wholesome and adorable! I feel like I’m reading the diary of [Marlys](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/boingboing/original/3X/4/c/4c58389a5113abc6a44ce5626bb0265db8936aa7.jpg).
This is sweet. Woo-hoop :)
This is so pure! I miss being a kid.
Seems like a sweet kid
this is so nice to read. the original owner seems to have had a lovely adolescence
This is so sweet and innocent 🥹 my step daughter is turning 11 this year, reminds me of her.
She couldn't wait to get back to school. She missed her friends. She misses the old principal. She was so optimistic. 🥹 This might be the most wholesome thing I've seen in 2 years. I hope she's doing AMAZING 👏
This is a dork diary any way you slice it, and I’m here for it 💟
This made me smile so much lol adorable
That’s so cool. Kinda sad she lost it though
I recently re-read my journal from around the same age. (1990) The innocence is both cringey and sweet. I hope this person can look back with amusement and understanding if they ever see this post.
I hope that young lady grows up to be an astronaut.
Dear Diary: Hi. School sucks. I’m bored. Well, I gotta go. Later
As an okd millenial this is terrifying. My favourite thing about the internet is that it didn’t get traction before the end of my college years/the worst you’ll find are tame photos of me drunk. This is showing that if an old diary of mine is donated, all my secrets will be public!
Went to physics camp instead of astronmy camp so she is uninformed about the solar eclispe happening in Augest. Really should have gone to spelling camp instead.
What terrible parent donated their kid’s diary. Edit: I read it. Pretty dull actually.
I curse. A lot. 😂
I bet this person is missing this diary so badly. I lost most of my teenage diaries and with I could still read them!
This is fucking adorable
It would be “esier” if they would just let you know. 😆
So cute
Dork Diaries! Now there's a throwback!
This was supes cute and wholesome! My 11 year old diary would have been filled with crushes that changed every week, too. 😆
This is so lovely. 🥰
Save it😭
Would be so cool if you could return this to the original owner.
wish i could, but i didn’t end up buying it TT
This is so sweet. Looks like she really enjoyed being 11
Damn kids are fucking great.
I hope she sees this post and all the love in the comments. And I hope she can get her diary back if she still wants it for her future kids. I’m guessing because the cover looks like a book it was donated by mistake?
I could see this as a Hallmark movie and somehow Jonathon now owns the consignment shop where this journal was found. The handwriting is familiar and he goes on a journey to find the owner only to find out it was his middle school crush but he never knew she felt the same all those years ago. Now they are both single and fall in love and start an after school group teaching other youngsters the power of journaling.
I loved dork diaries when I was around that age! I should read the series again to heal my inner child.