The practice of writing things down—whether it be class notes, random ideas, or journal entries, is immensely important. In modern day, we are so drilled to immediately get rid of our notebooks upon finishing a class because our minds are so geared towards thinking, “When will I ever use that again?” Not only is this a waste of paper, but tossing your work is foolish when you could reference it in the future.
Many high schools throughout the U.S. also have a celebrational routine on the last day of school in which they toss their notes into the air, never to use them again. Evidently, there
are some things that you could throw away, such as poorly written notes or extremely old papers. I would argue that keeping your notes and any type of writing you put valuable time and
energy into is beneficial for the long-run because of nostalgia and the need for personal reference.
Sitting in my attic and in my desk drawer are stacks of notebooks from both highschool and
college. I have saved annotations from articles, notes on books I had read years prior, and diagrams I drew to accompany my writing. Each notebook represents both a class and a notable time period in my life that I dedicated hours upon hours of thought to. Opening them and flipping through each old page reminds me of the teacher, funny memories in class, and most importantly, what I had learned that day.
One might complain that saving your work is a waste of space, yet I have utilized these
notebooks a plethora of times in coming up with research ideas in my field of psychology and having my own explanation of concepts to read over. The purpose of keeping your work is to become a sort of historian for yourself, to document and have the opportunity to review the progress you have made over time.
Even saving documents online of past essays, presentations, and edits on your work could prove to be an enjoyable walk down memory lane one day. Reading through an old essay about your hopes for your career or your first months of college in the future will bring about a sense of nostalgia that is comparable to going through old pictures. If you push through highschool and college without saving any work that you had spent time on, what are you physically leaving with besides a diploma?
The individuals who leave without notes or snippets of their work are most likely going to forget the information they worked so hard to earn A’s on after leaving school—how sad! In
in contrast, the students who save their work and notes on the subjects that matter most will have a personal library of information, readily available at any time to spark a sense of nostalgia and accomplishment. Start saving your work and realize the value that your writing may bring to your future, whether it’s a sense of nostalgia and progress or a personal tool for reference.
