I have been obsessively tracking everything about my life since the moment I could pick up a pencil.
When I first discovered the concept of a journal, I immediately became fascinated with the practice of keeping a collection of memories and thoughts. Whether it was in a sequined hot-pink hardcover from Claire’s or a black composition notebook from Staples, I was always writing whatever came into mind, as if the ideas that I conjured up at seven years old would one day help a middle-aged me. I scribbled what I had eaten for breakfast, what cartoons I watched on TV, what my brother and I bantered about, and the other menial events of my daily life. After every entry, I would flip through my journal, admiring the indents of my written words and smudges of ink, the evidence of my hard work. The ability to accumulate my days in one pile of paper was unlike anything I had experienced before, and filling in more pages became my everyday goal (even though, ironically, I’ve never finished a journal before). Once I entered middle school, the once infinite supply of time that I designated for journaling grew scarce, now occupied by stress and study. Luckily, I was introduced to a different, much more efficient form of tracking my life.
The perfect tracking site exists for any person with any hobbies. Without the hassle of sitting at a desk and scribbling lengthy paragraphs, you can achieve the same level of satisfaction as you would from a physical journal— only instead of flipping through piles of pages, you can seamlessly scroll through your created digital archives. Recording my life relative to the different types of media I consume on a daily basis is one of the main appeals of these tracking sites to me. A notable logging app that I have come across is Letterboxd, an app/website that functions as a database for cinema and a place to log people’s recently watched films.
“Looking at the full list of movies that I’ve logged on Letterboxd is pretty satisfying. Seeing other people’s opinions on movies that I like is also fun to do,” Hannah Yang, 12, remarks. Being able to read other users’ reviews and analyses is a popular feature of Letterboxd. Through others’ perspectives and interpretations of films, aged movies can become new again. As much as I’d like to call myself a movie enthusiast, I don’t think I started fully appreciating cinema until I opened a Letterboxd account. It granted me access to an endless amount of new films and opened a door to a diverse community. The site allowed me to appreciate my history with movies, as well as help me explore the future of cinema.
For avid readers (or aspiring ones), Goodreads is also another wonderful example of a place for logging.
“I really enjoy using the feature where I can input the page number I’m on and Goodreads automatically shows the percentage of how much I’ve read. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and motivates me to read more so I can update my progress,” Paris Sanchez, 12, states. “I also find it satisfying to set a reading goal for every year and watch myself get closer to reaching it.” Similar to Letterboxd, the community aspect of Goodreads is also an attractive factor to users. “Goodreads offers the ability to follow other users and keep track of what they are reading,” Sanchez continues. “It’s fun to discover and explore new books from my friends, and it expands my horizons from what I usually read.”
Of course, tracking isn’t exclusive to the leisurely parts of life. In an endless journey of job searching, what sets one candidate apart from the next? In a never ending list of applicants, how do employers get to know their potential employees without a face-to-face meeting? The resume is a classic example of logging one’s life. It’s an extensive list of achievements, experiences, and skills that make someone desirable in a professional setting. Most would say that the longer your resume is, the better you’ll seem as an employee. Aside from how others perceive it, a detailed resume is also just fulfilling to look at; when I put together my first resume, seeing my entire academic and professional career spread out in a packet of paper filled me with an immense sense of pride and feeling of satisfaction, similar to how I felt when I looked at my journals and other trackers. Logging is also helpful with personal health; diet, menstrual cycle, and blood pressure trackers are all examples of tracking apps that can be used to maintain one’s condition and even recognize warning signs.
