Anne Frank - Damn good diary...

I just re-read the Diary of Anne Frank. Last time I read it, I must have been 12 years old or so. Anyway, the significance of the work was completely lost on me then. The girl was 13 when she wrote it and she was more intelligent, more perceptive than I am today. Remembering my own diary at that age, I can't help but be embarrassed. I think my entries read something like this:

Today was so exciting!!!! I got a new pencil thats pink and has sparkles and it's pretty!!!! Oh my god! Jimmy farted today during Math class. It was SOOOO stinky! I almost DIED!!!

Anyway, I think you get my drift. I actually still have them. Alright, I'll give you an actual sample from my diaries. I'm sorry you have to sit through this:

October 3, 1992
Today, I went to the Fall Festival. It was fun. I won 4 stuffed animals. I got a heart, a dog, a deer, and a elephant. Dad won a bear that has a face that is neon green and then a quarter of it is blue. Another quarter is pink. Well that's about it

Oh and here's another stroke of brilliance:

October 22, 1992
Tomorrow we're going camping! I can't wait! I bought 4 backs of batteries. I have to get packed now. I have oodles of homework and I have to eat, too!! What a day.
Your beautiful master,
Priscilla
P.S. Not packs of batteries, pairs.

I mean seriously now people, why aren't they publishing my diaries. It's no wonder my score on the SAT Verbal section registered under "Haha - you got to be kidding". I'm sure later on that the difference between pairs and packs of batteries will be historically significant to future generations. At the very least I had some attention to details. But the point is that obviously when I was writing these entries, I was 11 which was about the time I read Anne Frank's Diary and definitely was not mature enough (as you can tell from my rather sophomoric entries) to fully appreciate Anne's diary. But now, 11 years later, I'm baffled at how she managed to stay sane in what would be a depressing, trying situation for an adult to be in, much less a child. Granted, she had to grow up rather fast when faced with war and the possibility of capture, and even execution. She wasn't allowed to go outside of this small cramped house, which she shared with 7 other people, for over 2 years?! 2 years?! And the worst part was that she didn't even know when her stay in the Secret Annex would end. It could have been another few months, or another few years. And the next time she saw the sun, it could have been because the Allies had finally invaded Holland or it could have been because someone had ratted them out to the Germans. Can you imagine? Anyway, I assume that others would also benefit from a second reading of the Diary of Anne Frank and I urge you to pick it up and read it. It's a relatively short read. There was a new edition published in 1995, I think, that has passages that had been omitted in earlier editions, so that might be the best edition to read.

Also, check out Anne Frank House. The pictures and the history on there will give you a better context for understanding the stories in the Diary.