Secrets for the World to Know

In fifth grade I had what I considered to be a very fancy diary. Its pages were lined and had pretty little flowers printed at the bottom. The exterior was decorated with colorful striped fabric and the binding had a silky coordinating solid print. It was complete with a miniature brass lock and key.

Even though it had a lock, I was still afraid to put my secrets on paper. I guess too many Brady Bunch episodes filled my mind with the horrors of someone reading your diary. After all, a fifth grader’s life is so tantalizing. I didn’t want someone to know I had secretly stuck chewing gum under the desk at school, or that I had faked a cough so I could have a permission slip to suck on Luden’s cherry flavored cough drops in class (not to mention possibly get out of P.E.).

I carried my little book around with me with its empty pages begging me to divulge my deepest secrets.

Now look at me. . . I am blogging for the whole world to see.

The other day my brother and I were discussing how things change– how the whole idea of a diary has changed so much since the advent of the computer.

Our language has also changed. The term “blog”, (for those of you who don’t know) came from the words “web log,” as in “a place on the web to log your thoughts”. It then morphed into “we blog” and then ultimately just “blog”.

I, for one, am glad they came up with the term “blogging”. Somehow, the phrase “I am diary-ing” just sounds gross.