She wrote some things that seem relevant to my project here:

“…in the end I always come back to my diary. That is where I start and finish, because Kitty is always patient. I’ll promise her that I shall persevere, in spite of everything, and find my own way through it all, and swallow my tears. I only wish I could see the results already or occasionally receive encouragement from someone who loves me.

Don’t condemn me; remember rather that sometimes I too can reach the bursting point.”

—Saturday, 7 November, 1942

“When shall I finally untangle my thoughts, when shall I find peace and rest within myself again?”

—Sunday, 12 March, 1944

“I must apologize, Kitty, that my style is not up to standard today.

I have just written down what came into my head.”

—Sunday, 19 March, 1944

“And now it’s all over. I must work, so as not to be a fool, to get on, to become a journalist; because that’s that I want! I know that I can write, a couple of my stories are good, my descriptions of the ‘Secret Annexe’ are humorous, there’s a lot in my diary that speaks, but—whether I have real talent remains to be seen.

…

I am the best and sharpest critic of my own work. I know myself what is and what is not well written. Anyone who doesn’t write doesn’t know how wonderful it is; I used to bemoan the fact that I couldn’t draw at all, but now I am more than happy that I can at least write. And if I haven’t any talent for writing books or newspaper articles, well, then I can always write for myself.

…

I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me.

I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. But, and that is the great question, will I ever be able to write anything great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, for I can recapture everything when I write, my thoughts, my ideals and my fantasies.

…

So I go on again with fresh courage; I think I shall succeed, because I want to write!”

—Thursday, 6 April, 1944

“Why should millions be spent daily on the war and yet there’s not a penny available for medical services, artists, or for poor people?”

—Wednesday, 3 May, 1944

“I have often been downcast, but never in despair; I regard our hiding as a dangerous adventure, romantic and interesting at the same time. In my diary I treat all the privations as amusing. I have made up my mind now to lead a different life…. My start has been so very full of interest, and that is the sole reason why I have to laugh at the humorous side of the most dangerous moments.

I am young and I possess many buried qualities; I am young and strong and am living a great adventure; I am still in the midst of it and can’t grumble the whole day long. I have been given a lot, a happy nature, a great deal of cheerfulness and strength. Every day I feel that I am developing inwardly, that the liberation is drawing nearer and how beautiful nature is, how good the people are about me, how interesting this adventure is! Why, then, should I be in despair?”

—Wednesday, 3 May, 1944

“…you’ve known for a long time that my greatest wish is to become a journalist someday and later on a famous writer. Whether these leanings towards greatness (or insanity?) will ever materialize remains to be seen, but I certainly have the subjects in my mind. In any case, I want to publish a book entitled Het Achterbuis after the war. Whether I shall succeed or not, I cannot say, but my diary will be a great help. I have other ideas as well, besides Het Achterbuis. But I will write more fully about them some other time, when they have taken a clearer form in my mind.”

—Thursday, 11 May, 1944

“…it’s even harder to stand on your own feet as a conscious, living being. Because if you do, then it’s twice as difficult to steer a right path through the sea of problems and still remain constant through it all. I’m just drifting around, have been searching for days, searching for a good argument against that terrible word ‘easy,’ something to settle it once and for all.

How can I make it clear to him that what appears easy and attractive will drag him down into the depths, depths where there is no comfort to be found, no friends and no beauty, depths from which it is almost impossible to raise oneself?

We all live, but we don’t know the why or the wherefore. We all live with the object of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same. We three have been brought up in good circles, we have the chance to learn, the possibility of attaining something, we have all reason to hope for much happiness, but…we must earn it for ourselves. And that is never easy. You must work and do good, not be lazy and gamble, if you wish to earn happiness. Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.”

—Thursday, 6 July, 1944

“I couldn’t do anything else. I have acted entirely according to my feelings, but I have acted in the way that was best for my peace of mind. Because I should completely lose my repose and self-confidence, which I have built up so shakily, if, at this stage, I were to accept criticisms of my half-completed task.”

—Saturday, 15 July, 1944

All excerpts from the July 1993 Bantam edition of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, translated from the Dutch by B.M. Mooyaart-Doubleday, Library of Congress catalog card number 52-6355.