"It would be curious to discover who it is to whom one writes in a diary. Possibly to some mysterious personification of one's own identity." - Beatrice Webb

I'm so reluctant these days to write in my journal. I listen to a podcast of "This American Life", and there was one story where the narrator reread her high school journal, dripping with sarcasm and irony in the retelling. She mocked herself, the friends she had, the feelings she most definitely felt at that moment in time... The whole thing, while it was meant to be funny, just left me feeling sort of empty. If four years of her (or my) life can be reduced to a comic bit, then why should I even bother writing in my diary? If one day I will reread it and simply be embarrassed at the very real experiences and crises of my teenage years, then I don't want to write in it at all. My future self doesn't deserve to to relive it if I can't appreciate the pain, the laughter, etc etc that I truly felt at the time.
High school, sure, it sucks sometimes and that's one of the biggest cliches we all know about. But it is unique and special to each of us, even if the years blur the once vivid memories. My high school experience is sacred to me because of the lessons I learned through out it.