The Year of Covid-19: A Journal A Message to Students Men and women have kept journals for centuries, ever since paper and writing utensils have been available to them. Journal writing has been a pastime of many famous writers over the years, especially in trying times such as those we are going through now. Daniel Defoe, most famous for writing Robinson Crusoe, also wrote A Journal of the Plague Year, which chronicled life in London during the Bubonic Plague of 1665. Another famous journal-keeper was Anne Frank, who wrote the famous Diary of a Young Girl (a. k. a. The Diary of Anne Frank), telling about her life as a Jew in hiding during World War II in occupied Amsterdam. In addition to famous authors, online bloggers have kept the habit of journaling (albeit online) popular in modern times. In the world of psychology, journaling is well-known, too, as a method of getting in touch with one’s feelings and making sense of things. Over time, the journal you write or type becomes a friend of sorts, a sounding wall you can turn to and share feelings, descriptions, and events with as a means of making order out of disorder. As many of us are experiencing unprecedented times now, we will be using journals to relate our thoughts, questions, and concerns across the days. In this document, you will find a list of 35 ideas that can be used in your journal. Some you may use more than others, and some you may not use at all. If you ever feel like you are running out of ideas, return to this list and try something different. Together with our journals, we will get through this! FORMATTING YOUR JOURNAL Here are the basics for your journal: • Enter a date (day of week followed by month, day, and year) • If you make more than one entry on any given day, enter the time only below the initial entry • Be honest. The journal is a great place to share questions, concerns, and feelings. • Be creative. Journals are not for facts alone (though they can be), they’re also for dreams, wishes, and “escapes.” • Although you are writing about life at home, be sure to respect your family’s privacy as well. The journal should work both as a private and public document that can be read by others (your teacher, at the very least, or friends and family members you might share it with as well). Example journal entry from Anne Frank: What ideas does this entry give you? Share a few after reading it! Then read the list of 35 journal prompt ideas on the next page before beginning your own. Sunday, June 14, 1942 I'll begin from the moment I got you, the moment I saw you lying on the table among my other birthday presents. (I went along when you were bought, but that doesn't count.) On Friday, June 12, I was awake at six o'clock, which isn't surprising, since it was my birthday. But I'm not allowed to get up at that hour, so I had to control my curiosity until quarter to seven. When I couldn't wait any longer, I went to the dining room, where Moortje (the cat) welcomed me by rubbing against my legs. A little after seven I went to Daddy and Mama and then to the living room to open my presents, and you were the first thing I saw, maybe one of my nicest presents. Then a bouquet of roses, some peonies and a potted plant. From Daddy and Mama I got a blue blouse, a game, a bottle of grape juice, which to my mind tastes a bit like wine (after all, wine is made from grapes), a puzzle, a jar of cold cream, 2.50 guilders and a gift certificate for two books. I got another book as well, Camera Obscura (but Margot already has it, so I exchanged mine for something else), a platter of homemade cookies (which I made myself, of course, since I've become quite an expert at baking cookies), lots of candy and a strawberry tart from Mother. And a letter from Grammy, right on time, but of course that was just a coincidence. Then Hanneli came to pick me up, and we went to school. During recess I passed out cookies to my teachers and my class, and then it was time to get back to work. I didn't arrive home until five, since I went to gym with the rest of the class. (I'm not allowed to take part because my shoulders and hips tend to get dislocated.) As it was my birthday, I got to decide which game my classmates would play, and I chose volleyball. Afterward they all danced around me in a circle and sang "Happy Birthday." When I got home, Sanne Ledermann was already there. Ilse Wagner, Hanneli Goslar and Jacqueline van Maarsen came home with me after gym, since we're in the same class. Hanneli and Sanne used to be my two best friends. People who saw us together used to say, "There goes Anne, Hanne and Sanne." I only met Jacqueline van Maarsen when I started at the Jewish Lyceum, and now she's my best friend. Ilse is Hanneli's best friend, and Sanne goes to another school and has friends there. They gave me a beautiful book, Dutch Sagas and Legends, but they gave me Volume II by mistake, so I exchanged two other books for Volume I. Aunt Helene brought me a puzzle, Aunt Stephanie a darling brooch and Aunt Leny a terrific book: Daisy Goes to the Mountains. This morning I lay in the bathtub thinking how wonderful it would be if I had a dog like Rin Tin Tin. I'd call him Rin Tin Tin too, and I'd take him to school with me, where he could stay in the janitor's room or by the bicycle racks when the weather was good. 41 IDEAS FOR YOUR COVID-19 JOURNAL • What are the highlights (and/or lowlights) of your day? Record what happened with details for any important parts. • What emotions did you experience today and what were their causes? If negative, how would you have reacted differently if given a second chance? • How did you fill the day today? What activities and strategies are working and not working? Why? Are you doing too much of something? Too little of something else? • What strategies are other people in the family using that seem to work for them? • Use dialogue to recreate an interesting discussion you had today. • What questions and concerns preoccupied you today? • What is something funny that happened today? Share it in narrative form. • What caused you to feel some remorse today? Share it in narrative form. • What are you getting to that you didn’t have time to get to in the past? Share details that might help someone else who might take up this idea or activity. • Describe something your family pet(s) did today. Remember to describe the pet so other readers can picture it. Sensory details are especially helpful. • What foods did you eat today? Are you learning to cook? Are you experiencing more or less variety in foods and meals? • What do you miss most in your daily life? What strategies are you using to cope? • How is the Internet helpful (and not helpful) in getting you through the day? • What is something unusual or “old-school” you did today? Describe it. • Use your story-telling skills to share an anecdote about something that happened today. Bring it to life with specific nouns and active verbs, sensory details, actions, colors, etc. • How are you enjoying the outdoors in a socially-responsible way? • What have you learned about Covid-19? Do you feel like an expert? Why or why not? • What is your wish for tomorrow? Explain what might happen to fulfill it. • Write an entry for an imaginary day in the future when there is a vaccine for Covid-19 and you are free to go out and enjoy the world again for the first time. • Write about a relative you miss and why you miss him or her. This might be a good place to share activities and memories you and this person share in common. • Employ some figurative language to describe what some indoor activity is “like” and why. Example: Working on a 500-piece puzzle is like… • Write a fictional entry from the point of view of a made-up character living somewhere else during these difficult times. The place can be real or imaginary. • How has Covid-19 changed your perspective or opinion on the world, on social media, on celebrities, or on anything else of your choice? • What have you learned about yourself and others thanks to these unusual times? How did you learn it? • What new rituals and habits have you created to help you get through these difficult days? • What have you been reading and how is it helping (or not)? • Share your opinions about school. Do you actually miss it, now that you can no longer go there? What are the advantages and disadvantages of online learning? What ideas for learning can you share with your teacher? • How much do you miss sports and other activities? How are you compensating? • What methods of exercise are you using to stay healthy? • What’s a skill you wish you could develop during all of this indoor time? Can you use the Internet as guidance (say, for music or art lessons, or for some other skill)? • What in your house is most valuable to you as a means of survival? It can be something as simple as headphones, the TV, the toaster that browns your Pop Tarts, or your bedroom door that locks.