Recently, I have seen many people on the internet wanting to pick up journaling. I have seen it in my friends as well. Everyone desires to have a routine that truly benefits them. One where you can release your dread, anxiety and thoughts into a place where it will not be judged. If you want an oasis like this, I would truly recommend buying a journal that you love and picking a time you can dedicate to journaling each day. Many have the journal part, but just have yet to start writing consistently. Most of the time, they just don’t know where to start, what to write about, and so on.Â
I have been journaling since my freshman year of high school, and I am now in my second year of college. I used to just write until I finished the pages, but I have evolved into switching out my journal each new year. So, I have collected about 5 or 6 journals throughout my years of writing. I first started because I was going through a really hard breakup, one that made me question things about myself, my faith, my worth and more. I had nowhere to place all my thoughts, and felt as if I could no longer bore my friends with my sadness, so I turned to my journal. I began to write every day. I talked about what I did that day, what I thought about, everything I felt and just about everything I was thinking. I talked about how he had made me feel, things he said and things I was finding out about myself. I wrote so real and raw that I used to have a very hard time rereading my journals because I was just so honest about my feelings. I am able to look back through some of the hardest times in my life, all written out by the date. I can read what I did that day, who I saw and things that I would not typically remember. I also find that aspect of journaling really special.Â
Once I began journaling consistently, I started to look forward to capturing all my thoughts in my journal. I also grew very proud of myself for having that healthy outlet. I was eager every day to write absolutely everything down. I always felt as if I had too many thoughts swirling around in my head constantly, and now they finally had a place they could land. When I did get over my breakup, I continued my fond habit. I still journal as much as I can. It is a healthy outlet of mine that helps me release my consistent anxieties. When I have thoughts and feelings, I feel as if I should keep to myself, so I just simply tell my journal.Â
Journaling is not meant to be performative; that is the biggest tip I tell people when they want to begin to write. You cannot write a certain way just in case someone reads it or stumbles upon it. You will not gain any true benefits if you are writing to be heard- you are writing to release! You are writing to understand, learn and let go. You cannot gain these benefits if you are writing what you think other people might like to read about, or to keep people comfortable. You are to write how people make you feel, what they said, what you thought and more. It is your personal diary, but it cannot be truly yours if it is written from the perspective that someone else might read it. Other than that, journaling is anything you need it to be. It is something that can only benefit you. It helps keep you in touch with your head and your heart. It is a place to put all of your thoughts, as well as one to clear your mind. Writing absolutely everything that comes to your mind on paper helps physically remove it from your brain, and seeing it all on paper allows you to rationalize and release your thoughts. I think having a space that you can run to with your innermost thoughts is something people don’t realise they need until they begin. I hope you try journaling and love it… and that you might find yourself heavily reliant on your pen and journal like I am.