Good Girls who Keep Diaries

“It’s the good girls who keep the diaries – the bad girls never have the time.” -- Talullah Bankhead

Is that accurate? How true is that? I love that Talullah Bankhead (I really don’t know who she is but her name is a Tori Amos song and I used to want that name for my daughter.) is so right on the money.

When I was in 3rd grade, I started diary-writing. I think it was because my classmates were always teasing me about being a tomboy. I admit I was boyish during my younger years and I used to love beating up little boys. A boyish bully. Yup, that about sums it up.

I moved to a straight Catholic school run by nuns eventually because I think I’ve beaten up everyone I knew. But I kept diary-ing because in 4th grade, I started being a little girlie. Mainly because I discovered I was crushing on this guy from 6th grade, really cute, and that he, too, was crushing on me. He even gave me flowers. Awwww. Puppy, er, crush? Again, I’m not big on love and romance.

And in 4th grade, I became Miss Intrams and it was a big thing for me because I was a new student. And out of nowhere, I got voted Miss Intramurals. Besting the five other girls from 1st grade to 6th grade. Oh and Miss 6th Grade, she was escorted by my Mr. 6th grade. They gave him a hard time for giving flowers to someone outside their classroom and were giving me dirty, catty looks the whole time. But I won. So my winning really meant ‘up yours’ to them. But my being pop did not last forever. I went back to being boyish and beat up another classmate who decided to cross our game of Chinese garter. So I had to set him straight.

Onto another school. This time Protestant and Chinese. (Not because I was obsessed with my broken Chinese garter.) I had my first boyfriend in high school. And he was a two-timer. So the diary-ing went on. Until I got to college and school number 4 for me. I got a new set of friends. And a whole sea of faces – ugly and pretty. And I started dating again. Ideally, I should have continued writing in my diary. But then, like Talullah said, I got busy. I no longer had the time.

So after writing hardbound volumes and volumes of hard core teen angst and creating my own code for secrets I didn’t want other people to know about just in case I misplace my diaries, I, unintentionally, stopped writing.

May 4, 2009