Remember the rules:
At least 5 pages, and at least 8-10 entries. Separate entries from the main body of the text by indenting and single-spacing.
I was going to include a complete
sample text here of someone’s journal pages, but I decided upon re-reading them
that this project is as idiosyncratic as it is personal; thus I am going to
include, instead, some random sections of journal pages:
Introductions
Ever since I was little I have wanted to be able to capture part of my life through the use of a journal. Over the years I have purchased many, written in the first several pages, and never looked at them again. The truth is that with my schedule I have never actually had times to write in a journal every day. In this class, however, a journal became an actual assignment that I had to keep throughout the year. I must admit that I usually found this task more of a burden than a benefit because finding the time and unique places was extremely difficult. As I look back at my journal now, however, I am very glad that we were required to do so. As I glance at each title and entry, I remember what was going on when I wrote it. The most significant events and emotions that I experienced throughout my junior year are preserved within the pages of this journal, which I can always keep and remember.
Most people start this section with
this kind of reflection. It is not
necessary, really, but there is nothing wrong with putting things in
perspective. Far more important to me
is what you say about the entries themselves, how they reflect your writing
style, techniques, etc. How you choose
to write introductions is up to you; at the very least, find a way to open
the section. (Maybe you could be
creative here?)
Organization of Entries and Comments
There are a lot of different ways of organizing the body of this section. Basically, they all amount to this: show off your journal entries and discuss them. J
Meteor Showers
When I was little I used to
be terrified of outer space. I was
petrified. I knew a comet was
going to slam into Earth causing total destruction and certain death to
all. I used to have nightmares and all
these horrible fantasies about how it would happen and what I would do during
my last moment alive. Anytime the
newspaper would even mention outer space, I would freeze and just wait for the
newscaster to announce that everybody had 24 more hours to live before…the
comet crashed into the Atlantic and exploded.
I was also terrified of UFO’s and would go to the library and sit and
read books about them and eventually make myself cry at the library. I was such a weird little kid. Any noise I heard when I was in my bed at
night was the landing of some aliens coming to eat my family, saving me for
last. As I grew up the fear went away,
as most of these silly things do. I was
such a strange child.
I picked this entry because it
made me laugh when I wrote it. This is
an example of a direct memory. The
prompt automatically made me think of this part of my life. The best part of the entry is that I promise
it is 100% true. I was exactly like
this when I was young: one hundred percent.
Gosh, I’ll say it again: I was a strange little kid.
Math Class
bounce.
cross.
uncross.
cross.
bounce re-cross.
swing
shift
scream.
“legitimate.”
definitely “legit.”
just sitting with the “guys
and the
gals” sittin’ and bouncin’.
rips out hair and jumps out
window.
This is the average day in math
class. My teacher is so… I don’t even
know how to describe it. Impossible to
listen to, for one, impossible to learn from.
They say “legitimate” every other word and need to be politically
correct whenever talking about anything (with sexes, and all you can do is sit
there and take it. It’s so awful and
it’s right in the middle of the day at the worst time possible. And NO ONE pays attention; they just sit
there, eyes half shut and mouths hanging open, watching the little ball of spit
form in the center of the teachers’ lips as they talk. We write down numbers and equations we
aren’t even aware of. Awful, and I
think this poem-esque piece displays it “legitimately” enough.
Boom Boom
“Hey, Sunshine.”
Construction has finally
started fully. Kill me now.
“Boom Boom” was written on 11-1 in Room 55. I know this is really a short piece but I needed an idea to write a prose piece about. Construction was amazingly obnoxious the last week so I wrote about it in the journal. From there I turned it into a story that went into my portfolio, but this is where it started.
Conclusion
This section of the portfolio is not intended to be a single “essay”; rather, it is an organized collection of eclectic pieces that, together, illustrate your use of the journal throughout the year, all of its ups and downs, the variety of kinds of pieces you created, and what you felt about the process. You might use the end of this section just to sum up your feelings, or you might use it just to have a bit of fun, but do “end” the section in some way.