When I first kept a paper diary, I hated not knowing who my audience was.   Was I writing to myself in the future, to my as yet unborn children, or as if some stranger happened upon it?   I never knew how much to explain.   Now I know who my audience is, and that is one of my favorite aspects of writing online.   Moreso, I find myself tickled pink to find myself on some diarists' reading lists. Don't think for a second that I'm not flattered beyond belief to find myself on a list of daily reads.     In 1999 I became involved in and then subsequently uninvolved in the online journalling community. I am so delighted to have gathered a small group of good friends amongst my fellow chroniclers. Other references I have found (I keep this list mainly for my own purposes of documenting everything): * Tammy's 25 July 2001 entry * Lynda's 1 July 2001 entry * echoside's 4 Feb. 2001 entry * Jen's 22 Dec. 2000 weblog * Tammy's 25 July 2000 entry * Jane's 22 May 2000 entry * Brian's 26 April 2000 entry * Jennifer's 16 April 2000 entry * Caitlyn's link on 1 Dec. 1999 * Jolene's 23 Nov. 1999 entry and links to curriculums: * Engl 355: Links to Hypertexts * ENG736 - Linguistics and Writing

grapevine ericbradley dot com journal "in my opinion the best kept diary on the internet, well developed, linked back to past dates, and filled with wonderful pictures, can fill a whole afternoon." Online Journals I Read Dear Kate... "She's so damn creative and captivating." connections Panorama "This is probably one of the best designed journal sites. I'm also curious about her life so I check on it every so often. She documents things really well." Sites I Visit Everyday Life In Fragments "I never thought I'd find a web diary all that interesting, but anyone who has looked at my front page knows that Rachel changed my opinion on this matter. I check in daily if only to see what she's taken pictures of this time." some of the best Blowing Bubbles in the Wind "Rachel blows me away with her ability to update every single day. She has had an online journal since 1997, and her writing is very natural and flowing." only sleeping "Rachel Rein. A fascinating person and a great site to explore. Beautifully designed. She's also responsible for a wonderful online catalog of moos: Rachel's Super Moo List, which has been a great help to me over the years. Rachel has what she admits is a compulsion to make all sorts of lists, a disorder I share. That only makes exploring her list of lists all the more enjoyable." Inspiration Working Title "Rachel Rein also keeps a daily diary that I used to check regularly--the site hasn't been updated in a while but the archives are well worth perusing if only for the mundane details of a daily life made fascinating by the underlying personality of the author, which is anything but mundane. I'm only attracted to specific online journals; the phenomenon itself is not something I find especially interesting, but there are a few authors out there whose personalities I enjoy, whose memoirs I would purchase were they published on paper. I guess the phenomenon of the online journal is only fascinating to me insofar as it exposes these personalities that might never emerge otherwise. I love well-written and amusing mundane details, but to publish all those worth publishing would kill too many trees." The Journals Kick Back The Darkness "A site that I find myself visiting and then leaving alone for a while but I always seem to come back to check in on how she is doing *smile*. First recommended to me by barbi, I find Rachel's style easy-going and her words a pleasure to read...." links yellow "Rachel's diary is organized, easy to read and interesting. She updates her site almost every day, so you can always get something new from her." simply grapevine simply beautiful "simple words, carefully blended with splendid images." Delana's Links to Elsewhere Essays & Open Letters "Very cool diary site." Journals ophelia's lotus "I really enjoy her 'ongoing entries,' especially all the lists." Journal Junkie open brain surgery "how did it start, you ask? well, i was doing my tech-thing, checkin out da news at slashdot, and bam, a link to rachel's reinyday site. i read her. i can't be sure if i fell in love with her, or with the fact that i wasn't alone in my journal keeping. unfortunately for me, it began to seem that she was MUCH cooler than me. so i got a bit jealous and totally redesigned my site. the next night i went back, and found a link to diarist.net. and the fun only was just getting started." Other Journals Shinkansen Journals Olympian Other Online Journals Altogether Alien Online Journals Blowing Bubbles in the Wind The People Sugacookie Culvert Operations Twenty Acres of Window Space Log Links It's Always Something! Journals For Your Reading Enjoyment it's not going to stop Journals Echoside Bookmarks SeeJane other fish.in.the.sea amaebi I don't watch soap operas good swift kick journals I follow Second Hand Toque Some Journals HuaHuaville exits blueletters links blueletters recommended others Lunesse.com Clio's Bookmarks The Clio Chronicles Blogs Worth Visiting ghormley.net the.good.things the good things Links Moonjooce's Weight Loss Journal Comic Relief freckled girl Some Journals HuaHuaville bunt sign: links the universal Thump Perforated Lines Links Ariana's Guide To The Internet Bookmarks Kathinka's Logfiles My Links: katestranqilityhaven Total Links Live Bishop1138 Some Journals to Read Whatever it takes... Online Journals I Read celiathepoet journals i read :onland://online/journal/ Blogs'n'ish twist of fait accomplis blogs blog7

About.com put me in their What's New section for May, 1998. They write, "Personal, thoughtful, and lavishly linked, the diary of Rachel, a California art student, provides intriguing reading."   I love the phrase lavishly linked and will probably use that as a subtitle to my diary if I every do a major redesign (as apposed to my constant play with the way things look).

I have been credited with inspiring a half-dozen people to take up the art of online journalling, which is the highest compliment I can imagine. Several of those diaries have since been taken down, but I am still credited by Ashley of Gotcha, by Jeff of Life in Fragments, and Rachel of Bluebird's Feather Footnotes. Thank you so much for recognizing me; it means more to me than I can put into words. I am also credited with inspiring the about page of combing my hair with a fork.