About every six to eight months or so, the sudden urge to clean out my entire closet, dresser drawers and sorting out what I should keep or throw out dawns upon me. During each of these episodes filled with decluttering and cleaning, I end up finding my childhood diary from over ten years ago hidden in the abyss of my sock drawer, the prime location my eight-year-old self chose to hide my deepest thoughts from anyone who tries to understand them. Last week was my most recent cleaning session, and it was the first time I had flipped through the fading pages of my old diary since I began writing for the Odyssey as well. From writing about boys and periods, to friend drama and descriptions of the happy moments in my life at the time, my diary had it all. It was quite humoring to read the ways I thought ten years ago, and eye-opening to see how my outlook on some aspects of life from ten years ago is still the same today, such as the motivation to stay positive and enjoy the little things in life. Below, I've transcribed some comical and somewhat embarrassing entries from my childhood diary so that those of you who don't know me can learn a little bit about my upbringing and for those who do to learn more about why I am who I am today.

Nov. 22, '08.
Dear Diary,

Well, I am just waking up and I am having a hard time doing it! I am excited because today, Chachu and I (with Anah of course) will go to see the movie Madagascar 2! I am so excited! I think it is gonna be an awesome movie! Last night, my mom stayed home and my dad, my sister, and I went to Chachu's house. We played chess and Connect Four. It was great! I hope today will be as awesome as yesterday!

Feb. 18, '09.
Dear Diary,

I am at home, because I am sick. I have a fever. Yesterday, something bad happened to me. I found out that Peter has a HUGE crush on me. I got sick because of that.

I could've fainted!

Well, wish me the best of luck,
- Safia Ghafoor

Jun. 12, '09.
Dear Diary,

Well, I am really tired. I'm on SUMMER VACATION! Yippee!
Well, 5th grade is up next! The last grade of elementary school! How is middle school gonna be? Sally is already in 6th grade. Salem Middle will be good (hopefully).
The reason why I am writing a letter so long is because well, there is really nothing else to do! Maman is in the kitchen, Anah is watching TV, and Papa is on the computer. Well, what else is there to talk about?

Well, gotta go!

Safia
PS. I cannot decide where to have my birthday party. I'm thinking Monkey Joes.

July 10, '09.
Dear Diary,

Today was awesome. This morning started off happy and great. I went to school. On the board, I saw the words, "Happy B-Day Safia". Ms. Gray gave me a card that also came with a homework pass! And at lunch, we passed out cupcakes. Everyone stared at me as I walked in with the box. I know they wanted one!
That night, I went to Kabuki. It was AAAWESOME! We saw a guy making the food. He had a lot of tricks. My fav one was the one where he put smoke in the pile of onions. It was like a train. At the end, the lights went off, and the only light was a little birthday candle. They also made ice cream!! They sang Happy B-day in Japanese.

It was the best b-day ever, and I will never forget it.

THE END

As nostalgic as it makes me, looking back at my innocent and carefree days made me realize that my positive outlook on life events experienced a a child in elementary school has carried over into my budding, young adult life. Every time I read entries from my childhood diary each time I clean out my room, I am not only reminded of good childhood memories, but I also realize more and more about myself -- more than I had ever imagined.