BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Journals Inquiring minds

Has anybody every been asked about their journals? One time a friend was bragging to others how I journal every day. One of the ladies, asked, sarcastically, if she were in the journals. There was a moment of silence, probably because her son was always tormenting my girls. There is a lady at work who sees me writing (not necessarily in a journal, and becomes defensive. "Oh Lord, girl, whatcha writin' today." I've had friends ask if they can read my journal. When I kindly decline, they react defensively. Does this happen to any of you? And if so, how do you handle this?

I did have a friend want to read my diary once. I was horrified by the idea; not only was there unflattering stuff about her in it (she was the clingy type who was hurt and offended when I wanted to spend time with other friends), I didn't want her reading all of my personal thoughts about everything! I evaded the issue for awhile until she finally quit asking. Another friend is very interested in it, and has asked about it several times... She also read her boyfriend's journal without him knowing, so I'm sure she'd read mine if she had the chance, too. When I graduated from high school, I went on a trip to Mexico with two other girls. We had gotten to our hotel room and were settling in when Girl 1 pulled out a keychain that had a ton of tiny little keys on it. Girl 2 asked, "What are all of those keys for?" Girl 1 said that they were keys for luggage and for diaries, because she'd been writing in diaries since she was in 1st grade. Girl 2 began asking her questions about it, and kept giving me incredulous looks. When Girl 2 and I were alone later on, she brought it up, wondering whether Girl 1 wrote about her in the diaries, stating that she couldn't believed she'd been writing in them since first grade... I didn't tell her that I'd been writing for about that long, too!

I just can't believe that anybody would ask another person to read their journal. When I visited my grandkids, my 8 year old asked if I would read it to him when i was done and when I said NO, he said "But Nanna, we have to read ours at school." It was kinda of funny.

At least they asked I suppose..... I wouldn't let anyone read my journal, even the people I love dearly would read me having a whinge about them at some time or another. It doesn't mean I don't like them, it just means on that day I was grumpy or whatever, better said in a journal sometimes to get it out of my system than cause a hoo haa!

I was engaged many years ago to "Guy X"- a fellow who one day announced in his rather pushy way: "Ya know, when we get married, that means I get to read all your old journals!" I asked him where on earth he had gotten that idea. His reply was a long diatribe about how married people shouldn't have any secrets, it was his RIGHT as my husband because the Bible says the man is the boss, and why was I so defensive, what was I trying to hide, and so on. When I replied that I truly had nothing to hide and he knew all my so-called secrets, but it was just the principle of the thing, mainly respect, he went ballistic, angrily accusing me of having sins and secrets and all kinds of horrible stuff. I finally got angry too and told him that I would burn my journals or rip them into wee pieces and clog up the sewer system with them before he would ever read them or even see them. I'm actually grateful that he said that, as it was the beginning of my gradual return to sanity.... like my eyes were finally opened. Funny but there were a lot of other bad experiences there that didn't faze me, but this did. It helped me to realize that I neither wanted or needed a BOSS; I wanted a husband to be my lover, partner, and friend! It's a long story but I left him not too long after that. And well, I've been married for 22 years now to my best friend, a man who loves the fact that I write and would never read my journals. I have nothing to hide, and he COULD read them, but I am glad that he chooses not to. He respects me and my need for privacy for myself, not because I have any secrets. That is what Guy X simply didn't get! I hope the woman he eventually married was not a writer.

My ex was the same way. He though i was keeping secrets from him. He was so insecure it was not funny. Got out of that marriage in a hurry. He told lies to his family so they took his sorry [censored] side. Whatever. I'm lucky to get out alive compared to others who are not so lucky.

Lynn Ann, you said... "I'm lucky to get out alive compared to others who are not so lucky." **************************************** ME TOO! And the thing is, I am convinced i just got lucky. I am certainly not smart! What's funny is that the guy HIT me and I did not wake up... but when he mentioned reading my journals, it was like "WHOA! Waidaminnit!"