11 Good Alternatives To “Dear Diary” For Your Diary Entry

Your diary is a personal account of your days. While it’s unlikely someone else will read it, it is still nice to be able to spice it up now and then. That’s why this article wants to introduce some better alternatives to using “dear diary” and how they work!

What Can I Say Instead Of “Dear Diary”?

There are plenty of good ways to introduce your latest diary entry. This article wants to introduce you to the following ones:

• Dear future self
• Dear me
• Dear (name)
• To me
• Hey you
• Hey me
• Hey, it’s me again
• Dear journal
• Today
• It’s been a bad day.
• Ugh

The preferred version is “dear future self.” This works well because it makes it more personal, and it almost seems like every time you write a diary entry, you are considering yourself reading it in the future. After all, it’s likely you’ll be the only one to ever read it again.

Dear Future Self

“Dear future self” is one of the best replacements for “dear diary.” We can use it to set up a conversation with ourselves (even if we never go back to read the entry). It helps people to feel like there’s more of a personal touch in their diary entries.

Sometimes, this feels much more personal than talking to a diary. It makes it feel like we’re having a direct conversation with our future selves, and we’re trying to find out what they’re up to and how they feel (even though it’s impossible to know that).

Let’s check out a few examples to see how it works:

• Dear future self, I have a lot on my mind, and I’d like you to listen.
• Dear future self, I hope you haven’t forgotten about me!
• Dear future self, we should talk about Matthew and how much we love him!

Dear Me

“Dear me” works similarly to “dear future self.” We can use it under the assumption that we will choose to reread our diary entries at some point later in our lives. This could help us to create a narrative where we seemingly talk to ourselves.

Here are a few examples of how it looks:

• Dear me, I think you should know a few things about her that you might forget!
• Dear me, I wouldn’t want you to forget about me, so I thought I’d update you on my recent happenings.
• Dear me, are you doing okay? I don’t want you to feel sad.

Dear (Name)

“Dear (name)” works when we replace “name” with our own name. Whether we choose the first name only or the full name, it’s up to us. It allows us to speak more directly to our future versions (hoping that we might read the entry again at some point).

“Dear (name)” is a fairly common way to start a diary entry. Many people use it because it helps to create a conversation for themselves. Just like the examples above, we can use this introduction to talk to ourselves.

These examples will show you how it looks:

• Dear John Murphy, today is a good day, and here’s why.
• Dear Evan, I hope you know that everyone around here thinks you’re a joke right now!
• Dear Tara, I think we need to talk about what we’re going to do about Billy!

To Me

“To me” is yet another way to talk to yourself through your diary entries. We try to refer to ourselves as “me” so that we get a kick out of it when we eventually read it back in the future.

Of course, there is never a guarantee that we’ll read the entry back. It might be the case that we’re referring to “me” when, in fact, nobody is going to be reading it.

The same can be said for all of the alternatives above this one. It’s still a nice way to start a diary entry, and many people enjoy it when they use it.

Here are a few examples to show you how it looks:

• To me, I have had a bad day today. I hope your day has been a little better.
• To me, I know you’re reading this. I want you to know that I will always love you.
• To me, I hope you’re doing well! Today has certainly been one of the better days of your life!

Hey You

“Hey you” works when we don’t feel like it makes sense to refer to ourselves directly. While some people enjoy personal introductions, others like to think of their diaries as one of their friends. Therefore, it’s more common for them to use “hey you.”

Unlike using “me,” we’re accepting that the diary is not “us.” Instead, it is another person or thing in our life that we like to talk to.

For some people, this helps them to feel less lonely, which is the general idea behind writing in a diary in some cases.

Here are a few examples to show you how it might work:

• Hey you, I have a lot to say about today’s events, and I don’t even know where to begin.
• Hey you, I don’t know why I haven’t been able to talk to you lately. I’m here now, at least.
• Hey you, I have had an absolute tragedy of a day! I’m glad you’re here to listen to me now, though.

Hey Me

“Hey me” works well when we want to open a diary entry. Just like some of the ones above, we can use this to include a more personal touch. The idea is that when we read it again, we’ll be glad to see that we were thinking of our future selves in some capacity.

Here are a few examples to show you how it works:

• Hey me, I hope you’re doing well. I’m not doing all that well today.
• Hey me, it’s been a while! I haven’t had much to say over the last few weeks.
• Hey me, I need to talk to you again. It’s happened one too many times, and now I need to vent.

Hey, It’s Me Again

“Hey, it’s me again” is another way to reintroduce yourself to your diary. Some people like this personal touch, and they act like their diary is one of their best friends. It can help people feel comfortable when writing in their diaries this way, which makes this a good choice.

Have a look at these examples to see how it works:

• Hey, it’s me again. I have a few things that I’d like to add from my previous point.
• Hey, it’s me again. I don’t know where I’m going with this today, but I’d appreciate it if you bear with me.
• Hey, it’s me again. I have a lot to say, and I don’t have very much time to say it!

Dear Journal

“Dear journal” is a common replacement for “dear diary.” Some people prefer to refer to their diaries as journals, and this might be a more suitable choice for them. However, you can choose to mix it up between the two whenever you want to.

Here are a few ways we can make “dear journal” work:

• Dear journal, I hope you’ve missed me since my last entry.
• Dear journal, I have a lot to say about the amazing day I had today.
• Dear journal, I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you around to listen to all my drama!

Today

“Today” works as a diary entry when you want to be abrupt. It helps us get straight to the point, which usually shows that something drastic happened on this day. It could be either good or bad. Only the contents of the rest of the entry will reveal this to you.

Here are a few ways you can see it in action:

• Today, I’ve had the best time. I don’t ever want to forget all the things we got up to.
• Today. Where to even begin? It all started when I went to school, I suppose.
• Today was not a lot of fun at first. However, it did get better, and you can always look forward to spending time with Charlotte!

It’s Been A Bad Day.

“It’s been a bad day” might be a more appropriate entry if you have not had a good day today. Rather than some of the more cheerful options on this list, we can simply say it’s been a bad day when we have nothing better to say that will help lighten the mood.

Here are a few ways that it works:

• It’s been a bad day. I’m sure you won’t forget this one for a while.
• It’s been a bad day. I can’t believe all of the awful things that ended up happening to me.
• It’s been a bad day today. I almost can’t bring myself to talk about it.

Ugh

“Ugh” works again to start a diary entry about a bad day. Sometimes, we don’t know what else to say, and the only way we can some up our day is with an exasperated sigh. Since diaries are paper-based, we can’t physically sigh, but we can use onomatopoeia.

Here are a couple of examples to show you how it works:

• Ugh. I don’t even know where to begin with my day today, diary.
• Ugh, somebody shoot me. I’ve had an absolutely miserable day.
• Ugh, I can’t believe I lost him again. I’m always such a fool!