When I was 14 years old, I kept a diary. It was a corny store-bought book, bound in imitation leather and labeled “Diary” in golden script, starting its lined pages with January.

I kept it that year and continued in similar Diaries for the next three, before I matured to journals, which could be on any paper (and which therefore mostly weren’t preserved).

Anyway, I carted my four Diaries around as I grew older and moved, always meaning to review them and putting it off because I assumed I’d find the reading dull and embarrassing.

Well. Three years ago I received letters from old high school friends, trying to organize a network and a reunion. Those letters made me look for yearbooks and find, among other memorabilia, my old Diaries. Not only did I read them; I got into them. They were interesting. I was kind of rooting for the heroine, the writer. I even transcribed parts for my old boyfriend to enjoy.

I recommend that you keep a journal or diary. I mean “keep” both ways; write the journal and be sure to retain it. It may take years, but your diaries will mature into valuable resources for you.

If I had it to record again, I’d do it a bit differently. Instead of initials, I’d use full names at least somewhere, so I’d know now who I meant then. I’d make a point of noting how the weather was. And how much (little) things cost.

You’ll love to reread your diaries, if you let enough time pass. They are records of your daily life. If you start young then you’ll be able to review your childhood with the perspective of an adult, and you’re going to really like that kid…