Virtual Journal Shift

I have known myself to be someone who writes a lot. In fact,  I wanted to take up Journalism back College but God above had a much better plan for me that I ended up being an Engineer. There are many things that interests me and my way of appreciating them is through writing--not necessarily the formal type though.

     I remember back in college, I loved to write down notes and thoughts during classes. I brought bulky study notebooks (which only a few college students would have) per major, say Communications or Electronics. I also always had my personal journal (we call them Diary back in elementary days) where I wrote insights, my quiet moments with God, Bible verses and God-revealed meanings, prayers (answered and unanswered), short-term and long-term goals, preaching lessons every youth Friday and Sunday service--pretty much everything that feeds my learning-inclined personality. I even had a mini finance journal for a detailed account of everything I spend/earn (if any) in college. And I make sure I brought them everyday, that's why I was tagged to always have heavy bag! Great thing is I lived in a boarding house near RTU, so it was still convenient.

     I wrote! Because I didn't wanna forget what I learned. I didn't wanna lose track of my prayers and goals. I wanted to remember events and people that marked my life. I wanted to have something that will remind me of what my weary heart could forget once it becomes busy and preoccupied.

     But how come I'm writing the 1st paragraphs in PAST TENSE? I'm broken to realize that I've been losing my passion to write, consequently, losing my desire to apply and remember what I learn and hope to learn. Who's to blame?

     I'd like to think that THE SUDDEN SHIFT OF REALITY INTO VIRTUALITY (if there's such a term) is subtly affecting almost every aspect of our life. This has not just promoted a transition to virtual socialization and expression as in the case of facebook, twitter and blogging, but also the with the way we approach and face learning. Instead of carrying around a pen and a notebook, we already have laptops, netbooks or netpads to write drafts, reminder or notes. The weight and functionality convenience of smartphones have already substituted for bulky journals. But a problem we face is that being always in front of the screen isn't contributing much to our focus. Who among you has aimed to finish a particular task in front of a computer yet failed to do in a minimal time because of games or facebook, etc. running in the background? You literally have the (virtual) world in the touch of your fingertips!

     And so being aware of this, I resolved to use this thriving technology to my convenience rather than lingering on how I used to do things in the past. I recently discovered the program EVERNOTE (available to both computers and Android phone) which allows me to create notebooks and have them synchronized in whichever device I use as long as I have access to the internet. And so as long as I have battery and 3G/wi-fi, I can fetch and update notes :)

     What a solution! I thought I was just lazy and apathetic. Oh well, SHIFT HAPPENS :)

My virtual notebook

[caption id="attachment_195" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Evernote's features[/caption]