My mom recently sent me my writing journals she saved from when I was in first grade in 1990-1991. At first I wasn’t interested in trying to decipher my 7 year old phonetic spelling (it really is like cryptology) but after digging into it with my kids I discovered a few pretty fascinating things. First of all, I was obsessed with my glamorous big sister, Pam. Second, apparently I loved math, like, A LOT. I was pretty judgy as a child, but also super loving. Probably the most historically interesting thing in here is my journal entry about the Gulf War. So travel back in time with me, if you will, to see who I was 30 years ago.

I made videos of me reading the most interesting entries because, well there’s just no way y’all are going to be able to read them. Though my handwriting is shockingly neat, I was still in the early writing phase where I had no idea how to spell anything, and was spelling words by sounding them out. In addition to that, I wrote a lot of backwards letters, further confounding interpretation efforts.

For example:
“Oso” = “Also”
“Frebs” = “Friends”
“Junpropyg” = “jump roping” (jumping rope)

Halloween

I actually remember this because it has become a famous story in our family. My older brother Brian, who turned 17 in 1990, was tasked with taking my sister Katheryn and I trick-or-treating at Victoria Mall. We found out there was a haunted house there and we wanted to go, mostly because we thought it was going to be an actual house, and we thought it would be spooky. It wasn’t spooky. It was utterly terrifying. I don’t know how it held up for adults, but for a 7 year old it was thoroughly scarring. Apparently we weren’t in there for more than 5 minutes before we both came running and screaming back out the same way we went in. My sister and I recall different things, but for me, the limit was a crazy dude chained to the wall by his neck while eating a human arm.

Just Say No

This entry probably followed a visit from McGruff the crime dog.

Happiness is a Choice

Don’t go to 7 year old Liz to solve your anger issues or depression.

Apparently I really loved…math???

I don’t remember liking math.

My first attempt at fiction

It’s a real cliff hanger! She just disa… (disappeared)

Just a list of things I love

Including math, obviously.

SHOTS FIRED

Don’t ask me why 7 year old Liz had it in for the principal.

Drawings of my sister

I was completely enraptured by my big sister. In 1990 Pam would have been about 21. She is 5’11 and has always been glamorous. She didn’t actually wear ball gowns everywhere though, that was me taking artistic license.

My entry about the Gulf War

 

What I remember about the Gulf War

This is not a journal entry.

More journal entries:

“I’d like to say a good thing about spring because it is my favorite season. I think that it is a good season for harvesting. Actually, Fall is a good time for harvesting. Well let’s get back to spring. There are lots of new baby animals and new born girls and boys.”

“Something I once did all by myself is wash the dishes. Vacuum my room. Clean the bathroom. Climb my favorite tree. Mow the lawn.” – my parents definitely didn’t let me mow the lawn at 7 so I’m thinking that is a little fib. I did have a favorite climbing tree in the front yard of the house I grew up in. 

“I love to give my clothes that are too small because they can fit other kids that do not have homes.”  – this is my mom’s influence, she instilled a sense of charity and giving back in us from a young age, thanks, Mom!