Personal journal entries of John Adams and Anna Green Winslow

I honestly wasn't looking forward to reading these journal entries but i actually kind of got into them. Its nice reading something that the person actually wrote, rather than reading something someone else wrote about that person. You get to see their exact thoughts, and see how they phrase things; you can tell a lot about a person from their writing style.

I really liked Adams' entry about getting up late. You could tell from that entry that he was just a normal guy who didn't want to waste his life away sleeping (i can relate). Adams had a thirst for knowledge that i really admire, i find myself doing the same things he was writing. He talked about his ambitions in regards to reading certain books and allotting time to thinking and mediating on his thoughts. He was a total people watcher as well, most of his journal entries were about people he met and watched in public. You have to think about how it was back in his time though, with no TV or radios that WAS the entertainment. He mentions a man who dances silly and people who say radical things just to get laughs. He also mentions a man who is mean to his wife. Adams is so professional when it comes to his work. He really loves law, my second favorite journal entry is when he defends it against justice dyer's views on the subject.

Anna’s journal was a lot easier to read than Adams because her language is much more simple. In her earlier entries she mentions multiple times that her Aunt says things about how adults shouldn't listen to the ramblings of a child, etc. This really frustrates me because sometimes they have the best things to say. She is obviously a very smart young girl who mentions taking her lessons at school and at home. During this time girls studied regular lessons as well as womanly lessons like quilting and homemaking. My grandfather used to say women were bred to breed, it always made me laugh. she mentions quite a few sick people in her entries, which i imagine was frequent during her time. In her journal entries she also mentioned going to watch military trainings in the courtyard, watching hangings, and being present at funerals. I don't think i would like life during this time as a young girl, i would get into too much trouble.