I've kept notebooks for over 25 years now. At this point I think I have about a hundred sitting in my garage in a box. Theres mostly nothing of much import in their contents. Notes from work, grocery lists, todo lists, etc. But there are also journal entries and descriptions of things that have happened in my life that bring me back in ways that no photo can. Theres poetry and song lyrics in there. Hopes and dreams. You can follow my struggles with addiction and eventual victory. You can see what a childish, selfish person I used to be and (hopefully) how I've grown out of most of that. It's an unvarnished and real account of my life and who I am. I've considered throwing them out because the idea of someone I love reading through all that terrifies me. I can't bring myself to do it though because it all happened and it existing on the page like that makes it somehow more substantial.