How did I choose the journal I now carry around during my adventures in Berlin? Small notebooks have been hard to come across, as there is a major shortage in the world. People all over the world are fighting to get the last notebook. Out of the many styles of notebook designs and brands, one is the most precious. The famous Notebene brand, red notebook is the most prized and remains to be the notebook of humanity. Alexander the Great wrote in a small red notebook as he conquered many lands and became to be the example for many great leaders. Einstein kept his notes and research in a red book, which would allow him to be one of the most influential and smartest people in the world. Chairman Mao Zedong wrote the communist ideals in the book Westerners called, ‘The Little Red Book.’ The chick flick The Notebook was based on a red notebook that was painted black. The great Popes in Rome have kept their records in red books. Even President Obama kept a red notebook during his campaign. Only the brave and strong would find this red notebook – I wanted to come across this book.

I found my notebook in a small corner shop in Alexanderplatz. You would never see it at a first glance. I stepped into the shop and was surrounded by tons of colorful books, all disorganized and stacked at random. There on the counter lay a little, red notebook. There were different choices but they either were decorated with flowers or was just too bland. I wanted a notebook that was small so that I could easily stuff it in my pocket and carry it around. I think the hardest thing about writing in a notebook is that it is too big to carry around. When I need to write on the spot, I don’t have my notebook handy and then I would forget what to write when I got back home. It is a 5-inch by 3-inch notebook, a good size to write a fair amount on a page, yet small enough to be convenient to carry. Other features include a nice string bookmark to mark the page and an elastic band that would go over the whole notebook to prevent the pages from being opened and bent. Moreover, there were no lines within the pages. I think when writing in a journal there shouldn’t be lines because they restrict the way you write or what you put in your notebook. Pure, blank pages would allow me to sketch pictures and write in different styles. This was the only way I could accurately express what I was thinking or feeling. The hardcover seemed ideal as traveling will often beat up the notebook and so I knew that the notebook would be safe from the dangers of the world. These are all reasons why this notebook was the ideal one for me.

This red book called to me as it definitely caught my eye right away – I needed to get this notebook. Besides the practicality of this notebook, I chose it for symbolic meanings. Throughout history, the color red has meant many things including the color of anger or the devil, the color of luck, the color for persistence, and even the color of a leader. Also, the main reason is that my Korean name has a character that is similar to the word ‘red’ in Chinese. My parents created my Korean name by looking up Chinese characters so my name was unique and it is most likely no one else has my name. They wanted me to become a leader so they chose a Chinese character/word that closely meant ‘a leader’, which also happened to be a word for ‘red.’ Thus, this color is directly tied to my name. The red also represents the idea of standing out and having one’s own identity – which I live by. To me, red is equivalent to strength, persistence, intelligence, and other aspects that allow me to get through hardships in my life. This notebook is only fitting that I pick it as the color red represents a part of my life.

From practical purposes to personal meanings, this notebook seems to fit my needs and definitely will be treasured as I keep my memories and experiences of Berlin.