Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CSU chapter.

With the end of the semester approaching, one thing I have found super helpful is to journal and write things down as often as possible. It lets me get my emotions out and allows me to be creative as well. One thing I would recommend is to get a new cute blank journal and start writing or drawing in it at the end of every day for like 15 minutes. It really helps to calm you down and let your mind slow down. Here are some journaling ideas.

 

  1. Make a list of all the things you want- This may sound silly, but it has been one of the best lists I’ve made. I wrote down every single thing I could think of that I want. This ranged from superficial things like a bunch of Yankee candles to really big things like to travel to Europe.  Write down all the material things you want one day. Write down what you want your house to look like and want job you want to have. Making lists like these keep you dreaming and they give you things to work for and look forward to. They remind you how much of life you have yet to see.

  2. Write Letters- I do this one all the time. If there is something I want to say to something that I can’t say to them in person, I write it down in a letter. It doesn’t always help, but it at least gets what I want to say out on paper and lets me express those emotions that were trapped inside of me.

  3. Write down quotes- Go on tumblr or pinterest and find quotes you really like and write them really pretty in your journal. Listen to music and write down your favorite lyrics (I do this pretty much every day.) This way on days when you need them you will always have quotes to look to.

  4. List all the people and things that influence you- I once wrote about all the characters in books, movies, and shows that I felt like I related to. I wrote what characteristics of them I saw in myself. I then wrote down all the people in real life that I felt influenced me the most. Doing this allows you to see visually what characteristics in yourself are essential to who you are as a person. Also, finding someone or lots of people that you look up to for inspiration is always good.

  5. Create a fictional world- If you’re having a bad week and you’re just tired of things going on in reality, write about a made up world. Create characters and scenery that make you happy. Doing this really helps you escape from reality. If you can’t come up with anything, watching Harry Potter is also a great alternative.

  6. Write down the places you want to go- Write down all the places you want to go and what you believe is there. Don’t just write about the actual physical places, but write about what you think it might feel like to be there. Yes you want to see the Eiffel Tower, but what do you think Paris looks like, feels like, etc. How do you dream it to be?

 

Happy Journaling!

Katrina is a student at Colorado State University double majoring in sociology and journalism with a minor in creative writing. She hopes to one day be a script writer for movies or write for magazines and newspapers. Katrina enjoys reading, watching Netflix, as well as playing guitar and listening to Taylor Swift.