I love the new trend, and NYT’s recent request – share a screenshot of your Notes – or some capsule from your Notes that stands out. Notes is an Apple app that lets you capture any thought quickly – it’s been around for as long as I can remember. Notes was and still is one of my most-used apps, and I’ve tried all the organization and note-taking options. My Notes logs include ones about my daughter from when she was a baby, including one from her third birthday listing decorations, food served, and games played. Food shopping lists, including holiday menu lists and the items needed for each dish. Quotes and tidbits I overheard strangers say to each other or read somewhere randomly. My weight, captured throughout the years, at times when I tried something like Noom or a new workout. People’s names and how I know them (because I can never remember names). A list of socially responsible countries to live in (to escape to) from a particular presidential election not so many moons ago. And then random things like Gmonkey. That’s all that note says, from April 2013. I have no idea what it even means.

For those who don’t write lists, the image of a type-A nut must come to mind when considering my habit. But the truth is, behind the lists are an insane number of nonsensical thoughts, a smorgasbord of moments captured in one or two sentences, a memoir of sorts of the crazy day-to-day moments of life. I’m just as much a basket case as the next human. I think I’m less type-A and more type-ADD, so I need lists to stay organized. For whatever reason, I’ve also always been attracted to people who can just go about daily life without a care. Never a list to be had. They drive me insane, and yet, they’ve been my best friends, my partners in crime, my muses.

I’ll never not write lists and I’ll never not capture all the crazy thoughts and moments I come across, but I do wonder what it’s like to just live life without the need to write it all down. Even the Notes trend has me listing. I can’t stop. But reading through my Notes, or opening an old journal, is a trip down memory lane. Similar to a photo album, it's captured moments in time. So, to everyone and anyone who uses Notes or writes lists – I get you. Keep on keepin’ on.