First of all, I'd like to admit that the use of "journal" as a verb bothered me when I first became involved in the scrapbook industry. I was also annoyed at "scrapbook" being used as a verb, but I quickly realized that there are no better alternatives. "Cropping," for example, is much worse. And I reminded myself that it's okay for the English language to adapt and evolve. If it didn't, we wouldn't enjoy such priceless gems as "bromance" or "cewebrity" today.
Nouns become verbs all the time, a phenomenon called "verbification" in some circles. (In other circles, the term "verbification" is right up there with "fashizzle" as far is being a real word.) For example, after people tired of saying "I'm creating scrapbook pages," they shortened it to "I'm scrapbooking." Likewise, "I'm composing a text message," has been truncated to "I'm texting." And "I'm writing a journal entry on this scrapbook page," has beome "I'm journaling on this page."
Even "writing a weblog" has turned into "blogging." And speaking of blogging, I had grand plans to write an illuminating post today about journals and journal writing. (Hence this post's title.) I don't mean just the journaling we write on our scrapbook layouts, but the collection of written memories many of us keep. Here's a picture of my own personal pile of journals.
I know you're jealous of that lacy, fabric-covered number I created at
age 14. At the time, I was absolutely stunned at my own creativity and
brilliance as I hot glued that baby together. It was and still is a
true crafting treasure.
But instead of composing fascinating bits of wisdom about journal keeping today, I used up all my blogging time in another way. I spent two hours delving into my adolescent psyche and reliving memorable moments like this one from when I was 15 (original comma splices and underlining left intact, although there's no way to triple underline things on a computer, as I did on the original hand-written entries):
"I just got back from a party. This guy who was there, who I also really like, probably hates me. I'm not sure what way I like him yet, he's really funny and nice and fun to talk to. Well, I hit him in the face with a volleyball. We weren't even playing volleyball! It was kind of a joke. I threw it, he turned his head, WHACK! I stood there in stunned silence. I tried to laugh it off, I apologized. He kinda joked with it, but I think he was really mad. Why am I such a clutz? I HATE it. He probably thinks I'm a big dork now. The worst thing is, I think that he thinks that I like him!"
Wow. I am so grateful not to be a teenager anymore! I remember thinking I was the only one in the world who felt awkward, anxious, and unsure of myself or how to act. But I have since learned that everyone felt exactly that way; some were just better at putting on a show of confidence and bravery. Right? Right? Please tell me I'm right! The rest of you were not nearly as cool and self-assured as I thought you were, were you? I mean, I don't really care or anything. It's like whatever. But, you know, I was just, like, wondering. You know? Don't have a cow or anything.
And stay tuned later this week when I talk more about journal writing, offering tips and advice and more embarrassingly real journal entries that I've written over the years. I have come to some helpful conclusions about journal keeping that just might help you have more realistic expectations of your own journaling and writing.
More Verbification Examples
"Party" was once only a noun: "We had a rolicking good time at last month's garden party."
Now it's a verb: "Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999."
And then there are words like "email," "pepper," "microwave," and countless others:
"I sent an e-mail to my mother" has become "I emailed my mother."
"I sprinkled pepper on my salmon" has become "I peppered my salmon."
"I used the microwave to turn the burrito into molten lava" has become "I microwaved the burrito."
Side note: "Friend" is a still firmly a noun, but I've lately heard it used casually as a verb. Instead of "I added Jim as a Facebook friend," I've heard the following: "I friended Jim on Facebook." There's already an English verb that serves this purpose, but I never hear anyone say, "I befriended Jim on Facebook." Has anyone else heard either usage?
Dying to hear more about verbification? Check out Grammar Girl's thoughts on the subject. And if you have any specific questions or thoughts about verbification, journal writing, or adolescent angst, please share!
