Recently I was going through a few journals that I’ve kept stacked up in a shelf. Some are used, some unused. Several of them had poems that I’d just begun, sketches that I never went back to, stories and thoughts, all half finished.
But as I saw them, I remembered the emotions that were involved when I wrote them.
Some were when I was a confused teenager sitting through a tedious Math class. Next to the derivative of a function was the plot of an Indiana Jones inspired adventure with haphazard pencil drawings.
Some were random thoughts from moments of deep sadness, loss, and even little achievements and moments of joy. Some were funny thoughts that crossed my mind and some didn’t even sound like me. Each sketch or drawing came from the state of mind I was in at that moment.
It was fascinating to see that all of these were coarse. They were bare. So real. I wonder why I never went back to them?
This little visit to the depths of my closet and into those journals and notebooks got me thinking that perhaps the most honest creations are the ones that are coarse, unpublished, those scribblings on the sides of notebooks, those sketches that try to capture what you’re feeling, those hidden unfinished stories.
We polish, sanitize, edit, delete and are still afraid to hit publish. There’s often more truth in them than the ones we put out there.
To tell our story it may not be enough just to know how to write or to have immense love for words. We also need to be brave enough to tell it in its truest form.
This post is part of BlogchatterA2Z
THE LITERARY AFFAIR 
Yes, we do sanitize our writing. And sometimes it’s the need of the hour and sometimes it’s that we are not brave enough to let it be infested with thoughts that are raw! Aren’t we all rough at some edges but still wish to showcase the polished side.
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So true, Anagha. Glad you stopped by.
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I dump all unfinished writing sooner than later. Amazing that you keep them all.
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Haha, I had forgotten I had them.
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So relatable, Leha. Recently, when I was at my hometown, I found my old journals written after delivering my daughter. I had shared all the raw emotions I felt as a new mother. We would never share this with the world, but we should re-visit our old journals, it brings back so many memories.
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Glad you found it relatable Aesha. It is always nice to revisit them. We learn so much about ourselves.
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Very well said Leha. I often go back to my writing from my young days. Of course I feel it’s pretty raw but honesty shines through it.
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That level of honesty is amaze, isn’t it 🙂
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“We also need to be brave enough to tell it in its truest form” how very true is this!
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Glad it resonated, Harshita 🙂
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I vary my degree of honesty and bravery to come to a place where I can be okay to let it out there in the world. That’s why I love writing poems. They’re usually the rawest.
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Oh yes, poems are the best way to let it out 🙂
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This post rings true. Would we ever be able to put out something raw, something imperfect out there? And yet, as you said, those might be the truest emotions that we go through. Lovely post, Leha!
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Thank you so much. I hope we all learn to embrace our imperfections 🙂
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This is what happyo me when I start cleaning my room. You know Leha, I am fond of my old diaries and those shattered words. They’re my memoroes of golden days. Love your words always.
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So lovely Swarnali! Those are treasures.
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