Having been travelling extensively for 15 years, I have always enjoyed keeping a written memory of my adventures. Over the years I have witnessed great changes in the way that one can keep in touch with friends and family at home. It used to be that I would store all of my thoughts and experiences in my journal, feeling them in the moment and wishing that I could share my immediate excitement with my loved ones.
When I did return, I had difficulty conjuring up the same feelings that I had while I was in there and people could not relate to what I was telling them.
Since I have discovered the world of Blogging, I have been able to bring people along with me on my journey. I no longer have to wait to tell people about the most extraordinary thing that has happened to me and hope that they care to listen. I can now, post it on my Blog for those who are interested. They can read all about my travels and share the experience with me. They can sense the emotions that I am feeling in the present and enjoy my excitement or sorrow over an event or situation that I have just witnessed. No longer am I boring friends with slide shows and long-winded accounts of my travels. They can read all about it themselves. If they don’t care to read about it or to look at my posted photo’s, chances are that they don’t care to hear too much about it when I get home either.
When on an extended travel, I am excited to enter an Internet cafe and have a connection with the world at home. It is usually filled with other travellers that I can meet and share stories with, plus it passes the time in the evenings much better than hanging out alone in a guest house writing in a journal all by myself.
As a writer, it is exciting to create a mini article every time I sit at the computer. When writing in a journal, I tend to think quickly and miss important moments of the event I am writing about. When I am writing on the Internet for all eyes to see, I take my time to really describe and relive each detail so everyone can have a sense of what it is like to be there. When I open my Blog and check out the comments left by people from my last update, I am excited to know that people are entertained and inspired by what I have experienced.
When I revisit past travels through my blog, I am brought back to my journey with far more detail than through my journals. I can click on photo’s and read their headings to instantly bring back that moment. I don’t have to flip through pages of my journal looking for dates and titles or search through my book case trying to find the right book from a particular trip. With the click of a mouse, I am back in Africa or Asia following the links and photo albums and reading the encouraging comments left by family, friends and even strangers who are following along because they happen to enjoy the experience.
Having written in both journals and on a Blog, I have found a Blog to be far more useful, fulfilling and better to store precious memories than a journal. It is simple to navigate, every travel is filed and easy to access and it is out there to be shared with everyone. If you are going to have amazing experiences in your life, shouldn’t you be enjoying them with the people you love along the way?
Debra Corbeil is one half of Canada’s Adventure Couple. Together with