FYI: For Your Info The Book of You (New Era)

By Tamara Leatham Bailey


Tamara Leatham Bailey, “FYI: For Your Info,” New Era, Sept. 1993, 34


“Your journal should contain your true self rather than a picture of you when you are ‘made up’ for public performance. … The truth should be told, but we should not emphasize the negative” (Spencer W. Kimball, “The Angels May Quote from It,” New Era, Oct. 1975, p. 5).
Next century, when your grandchildren read your journal, will they get an idea of how you really are, or will they get a boring review of your daily schedule? Or will they have anything to read at all? When you don’t know what to write in your journal, it’s easy just to list the week’s events, and easier still just to skip it altogether. Here are some ideas for different things to put down that will be just as much fun to read as they are to write.
Up-close and in-person. Write interesting descriptions of the people in your life. Your mother, math teacher, dog, or anyone else will do. Describe them physically, or describe their personalities. You might also want to describe yourself.
As mad/happy/sad as … Describe how you feel and what you do when you’re emotional. Make sure you record different emotions, both positive and negative. Do you giggle? Do you jump? Do you cry? Do you pout? Do you hug? It will be interesting to see how these reactions change over the years.
From where I stand right now. Try taking a look at yourself and your life from a distance. For example, write your testimony, how you feel about it, and how it compares to what it was awhile ago. What do you see as your biggest problem in life? Writing about it can help you sort it out. What do you see as your greatest blessing? Take inventory of you, and write it all down.
The lists are endless. Make all sorts of lists—your friends, your classes at school, your favorite foods, songs, movies, books, scriptures, etc. Make a list of your own, personal assets, or of the assets of your family.
Take a letter. A journal is a good place to write a letter you can’t or don’t want to send. If you’re happy with someone, get the words just right before you thank them. If you’re upset with someone, vent your feelings in your journal. You could also write to a future person in your life, like your child or spouse, or you could write to someone in your past, like an ancestor.


Two Weeks of Ideas

Day one—Describe your best friend. Tell why this person is your best friend.

Day two—Describe the dream you had last night, or the most recent one you can remember.

Day three—Imagine that it’s exactly ten years from today, and describe what you’d like to be doing and what you’d like your life to be like.

Day four—Tell about something current you heard on the news or read in the newspaper. Tell how you feel about it.

Day five—Describe your favorite Book of Mormon character.

Day six—Write down your favorite joke.

Day seven—Write down exactly what you had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day eight—Write a letter to your great-great grandchild.

Day nine—Describe your bedroom.

Day ten—Tell about your last truly spiritual experience and how it affected you.

Day eleven—Describe your favorite sport, team, or player.

Day twelve—Write about what you’d do if you were given a million dollars.

Day thirteen—Make a list of the people you spoke with today, what they said, and how it made you feel.

Day fourteen—Write down the goal to continue writing in your journal.