Dear blog: you're cool, but I love my dear diaries

Ever since I was 13 I've kept a diary. It's not the kind of diary where I pour out my heart and soul on to the pages, I simply write about what I did each day and keep a note of the funny things that might have happened.

As a teenager I used to write this on a daily basis, religiously. At uni I updated it every two or three days. But now I'm lucky if I update it once a week. It's getting to the stage where I can't actually remember what I did on certain days, and I will geekily admit that I sometimes have to trawl through my Twitter archive to remind me about what I was doing on a particular day so I can record these details in my week-to-view diary.

My diaries - and there are 14 of them so far - are my most treasured possessions in the world; certainly the first thing I would save if my flat was on fire. And here's why:

On this day...

14/9/2008: I decided that Hither Green was where I wanted to buy a flat
14/9/2007: Living in London, I went out for birthday drinks with a colleague and watched some rugby
14/9/2006: I was living and working in Portsmouth and loads of roads were flooded

14/9/2005: I went to a legs, bums and tums class...then had pizza for tea
14/9/2004: I was working as a receptionist at a newspaper in Southampton, and was happy to discover that my (now-ex) boyfriend had actually done some cleaning
14/9/2003: Watched the Grand Prix and went to a pub in Hamble, Hampshire
14/9/2002: I was hungover and applying for graduate job schemes
14/9/2001: On summer holiday between my first and second years at uni. Went for an Italian meal with my family in Bristol
14/9/2000: Went clubbing with mates in Bristol before we all went our separate ways to various unis
14/9/1999: Me and my school friends watched the video I made of our Newquay holiday and I got invited to a party with my college friends (!!!)
14/9/1998: I played hangman with Tim during my free period and had an argument with my dad and brother later on
14/9/1997: I went to Lauren's rabbit's funeral, then had a big stress about what to wear to the cinema. We watched 'Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'
14/9/1996: I went to Chessington World of Adventures, and went on the pirate ship twice and the Vampire ride four times!!! Rovers lost 1-0 (first defeat of the season)

Wow, that was really freaky reading through some of my older ones. My life has changed so much in the last five years or so. All for the better.

I think the reason I wanted to write this particular post was to spur me on to update my diary more often, as it's getting a bit ridiculous. I truly believe that keeping a permanent, hard-copy record of events is so valuable, and helps you to remember who you used to be, and how you got to where you are today.

Writing this blog and updating Twitter is all very well, but being able to flick through the pages of the last 15 or so years of my life is so precious to me, and it would be so sad to lose that. So, from now on, I WILL write my diary on a more regular basis. I promise.

Each year, when I get a new diary in my Christmas stocking (thanks mum!) I write a note or two to myself on random future dates. I saw one of those notes today and it made me smile, and inspired me to write this. Well done, me, you're alright I guess :)