On the night before she starts her new job as a teacher, Ms. Gruwell writes down her thoughts in her diary. It's fair to say that she's more than a little apprehensive about what is to follow.

And no wonder. She is about to embark upon what she calls her “journey” as an English teacher. Whether it's a life journey or an actual journey to another place, most people feel the same way before they've finally taken that important first step, so Ms. Gruwell's feelings are entirely understandable.

Erin starts to worry about what kind of reception she'll receive from her students. What will they make of her? Perhaps they'll think her out of touch or too preppy. Or they might think that she's too young to be taken seriously.

Erin mulls the prospect of getting around the problem by getting her students to write down a journal entry setting out their expectations of their new teacher and the class she'll be teaching.

Even so, the prospect of her new job still remains daunting, to say the least. To compound the problem, Erin comes from a different racial and social background to her students. This will make the task of connecting with them just that little bit more challenging.