Hi Diary Dilemma,

DON’T THROW IT AWAY!!!!!

Ahem, sorry to internet-yell for a second there. But this is important. PLEASE don’t throw your diary away!!!!!It’s AWESOME that you filled it up. And it’s AWESOME that your mom is going to buy you a new one. ALL awesome! You know what’s NOT awesome? Throwing your diary away!! ☹

Because like you said, you have memories in there!! They matter to you now, and they’ll matter to you even MORE when you’re older. My mom’s always saying she wishes she kept her diaries from when she was a teenager.

I’m wondering why you might think you should throw it out. I’m going to make two good guesses and respond to them.

1. SPACE – Maybe your room/storage space is SUPER tiny and you don’t have room for a book that you’re not still writing in. Or maybe one full diary would be okay, but you might be thinking down the line to when you have dozens of full diaries. That does start to take up some space. But really not THAT much. You can get a LOT of diaries in a storage bin under your bed! Or if you really, really don’t have the space, maybe you have a BFF or a relative who you completely trust, and you could ask them to keep a box of your stuff safe at their house. Or you could put it in a weather-proof box and bury it outside! Anything but throwing it out!!
2. NOSY PEOPLE – Maybe you’re worried about a book full of your feelings and memories sitting around for someone to stumble over and start reading. This one’s easy—don’t leave it where someone can stumble over it! I mean, I get it. As kids, nothing is 100% private. Our parents could come creeping through our stuff at any time. But I say stick it in a box and label the box something super boring, like “long underwear” and shove that box under your bed! Or in the back of your closet!

SO, I hope I’ve made my position clear on this: DO NOT get rid of your diary. 🙂

Have you ever gotten rid of a diary? WHY? How did you do it? If not, where do you keep your old diaries? Share in the comments!