I never went back before but someone pointed out that it can be helpful to see the growth and changes you've made year over year. So I'm going to try it when I finish a journal.
I'll do one last perusal before I shelve it and hope I'm making progress and not spinning in circles writing about the same things!
I've found posts that I have no memory of what was written. It was like being a stranger in my own memory. I've also found things that were emotional triggers (ugh), and I've also found some "Wow, look how far I've come since then." moments.