On my 28th birthday, my dear friend Jenny gave me a special gift — a five year journal. As a lifelong lover of words, I’ve been given many journals over the years, but never one like this: the journal is designed to write just one line (or a few sentences) every day for five years straight. So on any given day, you can see where you were, who you were with, what you were doing, thinking, or feeling exactly a year, or a few years prior.
Jenny included a lovely inscription inside the cover:
Marley! I know you like to document life with photographs, but when I heard of this 5-year-long journal I immediately thought of you…
I remember thinking it was a thoughtful gift. But it also felt a bit like being handed a challenge: Write something every single day for the next five years. Stick to it. Don’t forget.
Okay, I thought. Challenge accepted.
Documenting travel
One of the more remarkable things about this little book is how many places it has been. In five years of extensive global travel, I never left it behind. It went with me to over 30 U.S. states and 12 countries. It rode along on 10 big road trips, and sailed across thousands of nautical miles on nine different oceanographic research expeditions.
The series below illustrates the variety of entries — alternating between special moments with friends or family, and special moments in my adventures:
June 6, 2016 [Chapel Hill, NC] Talked to Jubey Jubes for the first time in a while tonight. He is so damn soulful. I love him dearly, and feel especially connected to him at this time in life.
June 6, 2017 [Mt. Shasta, CA] Woke up at 10,000 feet at 2am. Reached the summit by 7am, just after sunrise. It was a challenging climb but Jon Haas is the most amazing climbing partner in the world.
June 6, 2018 [Pacific Ocean] Hard workout with Mick and Luke this afternoon. Photographed an incredible sunset from the top deck this evening. Finished blog post and video. Exhausted but happy.
June 6, 2019 [Chapel Hill, NC] Went running with KBC this morning and she told me she’s pregnant (with twins!!) Now off to grab lunch with Austin before we begin our epic road trip to Katie and Dan’s wedding!
June 6, 2020 [South Toe, NC] Ryan and I climbed Mt. Mitchell today! We had the trail to ourselves but found a big crowd at the summit. Date night dinner at Snap Dragon. Perfect day :)
June 6, 2017: Standing on the summit of Mt. Shasta.
June 6, 2018: Flexing after a circuit workout with Mick and Luke on R/V Falkor.
June 6, 2020: Hanging out behind the lodge in South Toe with dear Ryan.
Documenting an unpredictable career path
The first two years (2016 and 2017) of entries include snippets about my old co-workers, like “coffee with Layla” or “a long walk with Alyssa”. As I flip back through the pages now, I can see exactly where my transition into full-time freelance work began.
June 19, 2017 [Chapel Hill, NC] Today I created a folder on my computer called “My Future Business”. Gotta start somewhere. Also, I’m going to the Galapagos again!
November 8, 2017 [Chapel Hill, NC] I told Layla my plans to leave UNC today. It was a tough conversation — she seemed so bummed. It’s all starting to feel much more real…
February 9, 2018 [Chapel HIll, NC] Today is my last day at UNC. So many sweet emails from colleagues. It feels so surreal.
After completing four expeditions in 2018, I began the process of extending my professional network around the globe. I remember how nervous I felt during those first meetings and conferences as a full-time freelancer. Over and over again, I had to learn how to advocate for myself.
Long story short — it paid off.
November 9, 2018 [Boston, MA] This conference has been awesome. So many inspiring people and solid connections. I really hope the Nautilus hires me…
August 24, 2019 [Apia, Samoa] Landed in Auckland after the longest flight ever and immediately found OET people. Six hours later, we’re boarding the Nautilus! Ed (my boss) is awesome.
September 1, 2020 [Chapel Hill, NC] I’M GOING TO WORK ON NAUTILUS AGAIN! Expedition time — even in the midst of COVID— I can’t believe it!
November 2018: At All Hands on Deck, I had the pleasure of meeting lots of awesome ocean people, including folks from the Ocean Exploration Trust which operates E/V Nautilus.
September 2019: Less than a year later, I had the incredible opportunity to work on Nautilus as we sailed across the Pacific Ocean from Samoa to Hawaii.
Documenting the most important things in life
The number of big adventures I’ve taken over the past few years continues to boggle my mind. But thousands and thousands of miles do not add up to a meaningful life.
The number of amazing people do.
In addition to my travels and non-traditional career path, this little book also holds lots of big life events — for me and the people closest to me. During the past five years, six of my friends earned advanced degrees, over a dozen friends got married (four got divorced), and eight of my best friends became mothers.
The following series of entries may be my favorite:
July 2, 2018 [Pacific Ocean] I had a dream last night that Gia was pregnant. I sent her a video message as soon as I woke up (before eating breakfast) so hopefully the dream will come true.
August 27, 2018 [Chapel Hill, NC] GIA IS PREGNANT!!! FINALLY!
March 14, 2019 [Honolulu, Hawaii] BETH AND GIA HAVE A BABY!!! Welcome to the world Frankie Rae Branciforte! I’m far away right now, but I love you already.
March 28, 2019 [Durham, NC] I met Frankie today!! She is so beautiful, and B&G are already amazing parents, and I am so, so happy for them.
March 14, 2020 [Durham, NC] Beautiful, sunny day spent celebrating Frankie Rae. I took lots and lots of photos of the Brancifortes and all of our gorgeous friends.
March 14, 2020: I’ve been taking photos of Beth and Gia for years, but this image (from Frankie’s first birthday) is one of my all-time favorites.
This little journal, for better or worse, also contains the ups and downs of my love life. Flip through the pages and you’ll find the names of half a dozen men who flittered in and out of my life over the past five years. Some were just casual flings, while others tugged at my heartstrings a bit. All of them were ephemeral.
But then a funny thing happened. At the end of 2019, I wrote down the name of yet another cute guy I had met, and this time it stuck: Ryan. Needless to say, the evolution of our relationship is well documented.
December 11, 2019: [First kiss.] Ridiculously fun night in Ft. Lauderdale. Ryan and I danced all night.
December 27, 2020: [First date.] Lovely evening with Ryan. We made a healthy vegan dinner and listened to my brother’s band.
Feb. 14, 2020: [First long-distance date.] I’m never leaving Arizona! I hiked all day, set up camp, photographed an incredible sunset, and then had a great phone date with Ryan (we talked for over an hour??)
April 5, 2020: [Let the record show I said it first.] This afternoon Ryan and I laid in bed talking for a long time. I told him I love him. And he said he loves me too.
April 19, 2020: [Love in the time of COVID] Well, it’s official. I’m giving up on being a full-time nomad (at least for now) and moving in with Ryan. It feels good.
Documenting perspective and reminders
I was talking about this journal recently when a friend asked, “So if you have to write something down every day, does that give you more incentive to do something worth writing about?”
I can honestly say I’ve never had that thought. On the contrary, there were plenty of bad days that I didn’t feel like documenting at all. For all the “epic” or special entries in this journal, there are just as many days where I wrote things like:
May 30, 2016 [Chapel Hill, NC] Exhausted. My body is pretty much destroyed.
February 27, 2017 [Chapel Hill, NC] Today was just a shitty Monday. Felt down on myself, got a flat tire on my bike, Beth and Gia cancelled our plans to go climbing and do dinner. Bleh.
December 18, 2018 [Wilmington, NC] Drove to Wilmington to see Mom and Dad. Trying not to stress about holidays and money and taxes and work and life. Ugh.
May 28, 2020 [Carrboro, NC] Sleep is hard. Lots of restlessness and bad dreams the past few nights. Spending today editing and organizing.
But on those rough days, I could flip a page and find an entry about climbing a mountain, or filming the ocean, or just going for a run with a friend. Those constant reminders have proven to be very effective medicine for my mental health, especially during a year like 2020. Having a journal like this is also super helpful for remembering birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates.
I think it’s important to note that I didn’t write every single day. More often than not, two or three days would pass, and then I would remember I hadn’t written in the book, so I would go back and fill in the days I missed. Sometimes I wouldn’t write for a whole week. But I would always go back, force myself to remember one or two things from each of the previous days, and write them down. It was an act of discipline that brought a small amount of structure and routine to my peripatetic life.
Documenting the future
As I filled in the final spaces of this well-worn journal over the past few weeks, I wondered briefly about whether or not I would keep going. I did what I said I was going to do. I completed the challenge of writing something about my life every day for five years straight. Documentary mission accomplished.
Now what? I wondered. Should I keep going? Should I get another journal?
It didn’t take long to make that decision.
After five years of daily journaling, it only felt right to keep going. Here’s to the next five years.