I like to start a new journal whenever I enter a new phase in my life. I have some that span back to my first days of middle school, the entries full of kawaii doodles and terrible self-portraits alongside math equations. My high school journals are a little more cohesive, with some cheap Walgreens-printed photos of my friends and rough calligraphy underneath.
Now that I’m in college, I find myself gravitating more toward collage-style entries full of colorful pens, silly stars around crumpled receipts, and stickers from every possible club I could speak to at Market Wednesday. There’s been lots of trial and error in how I curate my journal pages. Still, there are definitely some non-negotiable items I collect to make each entry as meaningful, or colorful, as possible.
As my first year at Florida State comes to a close and I think about starting a new journal next semester, I’d like to ruminate on what makes my journal a junk journal.
Stickers
Never have I ever met a sticker I didn’t like. Every local Tallahassee band, FSU organization, and coffee shop has a spot in the journal. Stickers are clear-cut memories from events I’ve been to, typically not needing a little caption to bring them back.
As a child, I loved taking huge 500-count sticker books and decorating the car window next to my booster seat. Stickers bring such life and color to a page, without the risk of marker bleeding or unerasable pen marks.
Most organizations hand them out for free as a great way to entice you to their booth to talk. However, most of the time, I find some great stickers on the floor after such events. Someone else’s discarded trash can always turn into a perfect centerpiece for my next page.
Receipts
Before you throw away that crumpled Chick-fil-A receipt, pause for a moment. Is there space in your journal for it? Was your meal delicious, absolutely terrible, or shared with good friends? I collect my receipts, no matter the occasion. Sometimes I’ll trash them after a week, and I can’t remember why I kept them anymore, but most of them end up in my journal as background anyway.
My lunch receipt from when it snowed in Tallahassee, the first business professional outfit I bought for an interview I bombed, even the parking tickets I’ve paid off are taped in with glitter and gold pens.
Shopping and eating with the people you love are always such fun experiences, and even if not, every receipt is monumentally memorable.
Letters from Home
My older sister signs every letter with “Love Ya Butthead xoxo,” and I eat it up every time. Letter writing is a lost art, so when my parents send me my new health insurance card or my grandmother gives me a crisp $20 bill for Valentine’s Day, I cherish every scribbled heart and crooked address.
Letters from family and friends you don’t see as often are so special and make amazing collage pieces with their different colors and paper textures. They’re such a sentimental gesture that’ll bring good memories for years to come.
Cutting out all the “I love you’s” and “proud of you’s” is such a fun way to remind yourself of what you’ve accomplished. These cut-outs don’t have to be limited to a junk journal either; taping them to your mirror or window is also a great way to show yourself some love.
Food Packaging
Finally, the last staple in every journal entry I make is various food labels from snacks I liked for the week. Sometimes I’ll try a new snack I see at Publix or a curious concoction of ingredients on a take-out box, and I want to remember it.
While receipts can work for this, most food packaging is vibrant and colorful, perfect for a journal entry. Cutting out brands, pictures of the actual product, or nutrition labels can help you remember what you liked or what drew you to the product if you ever find yourself looking for it in the future.
On the other hand, it could’ve been so bad that you want to make sure you never buy it again and want a reminder of what to look out for, like me with a wide range of gluten-free breads I never want to see again.
Collecting junk for your journal is such a fun, personal process that puts you in charge of your own memories. It also takes the stress out of the general, organized, and highly thought-out spreads that take precision and planning to create.
Using whatever trash you can find and repurposing it ensures you remember the most impactful events of your trip or day in a way curated by you and your experiences. This break, I’ll probably be collecting lots of brunch receipts and bikini tags and adding cute doodles of shells around them. Go out, collect trash, and find what makes you happy!
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