How should I start my daily diary entries?

Question

My teacher once said that a daily diary is pretty much the same thing as a letter to a friend, except; it begins with "Dear diary" instead of "Dear friend".

Is this true?

Answer 1

Are you writing the diary entries for a school project? If this is not a school exercise and you are doing it for yourself then it doesn't matter what anyone tells you. What matters is what feels right to you and what comes naturally.

Feel free to write - Dear John. Write out to your sister, brother, grandmother or mother - if that feels better.

Or you know a little weird twist - write it to your future self. So the entry would be like Dear Sonia (if your name is Sonia). And you can then each day tell about how your day went and what would you want to have in your future. That way when you read it in the future, you would have a wish list and you could cross off all you have achieved!

Just one thing - if you are writing for yourself then try to be consistent. Even if you had a bad day - mention that. If you had a great day - mention it. If you are tired and you forgot, don’t worry - don’t skip the next day.

Writing a diary or maintaining a journal is a beautiful habit to adopt! Good Luck!!

Answer 2

Do you have to hand in diary entries (real or thought up)?
If so, write those pages as the teacher tells you to do.
Traditional ending are 'love, see you tomorrow' Love, [your name] or just your name.

If not, you can use whatever you want.
If you feel right with the 'Dear Diary' attitude, right, use it. But if you do not like it, skip it. Many people start every day with just the date, or even just the day of the week. (But do keep a note of the week/month or date somewhere on the page.)

Try out a few options and keep the one you like best.