Some months ago… I began the journey of my dream journal. However, since realizing the dark places of my subconscious, I decided to evolve my dream journal into a gratitude journal. I’ll be honest… I always found it extremely cheesy for young girls to record their days and emotions in a diary. Growing up, I never saw myself as “that girl”. I pictured a diary as a secretive manifestation of fantasies, crushes, drama… I thought it was unnecessary. In reality, I recently came to the realization that my new gratitude journal has improved my mental health and my emotional wellbeing.
I decided to replace my small notebook with a more personal, hardcover journal. Since I established a new part of my life here at Denison, I thought it would be a good idea to buy a journal in the town of Granville. I wanted it to have a personal connection to my college and the town. I picked out a pink hardcover, which features a cute porcupine under the words “can’t touch this”. Yes… I have embraced all aspects of keeping a diary. I title each page, record the date in the corner, and write until I feel satisfied. I talk about my classes, my emotions, any meaningful conversations I had, any exciting experiences, and much more. Sometimes, I list five things I am grateful for… or things that brought me joy that day. I also leave reminders for myself or inspiring quotes that I came across. I still record my dreams when I remember to, but this journal has grown into so much more. It encompasses my physical, emotional, and mental journey of freshmen year.
After a few weeks of maintaining this nightly habit, I noticed a shift in my daily emotions. I have always had trouble with expressing my emotions, so writing everything down has given me an additional way to release them. I end each day writing; I fall asleep without the brightness of a phone screen. Although I previously made fun of the idea of spilling secrets into a diary, I have found this experience very rewarding. I want to be able to flip back through the pages and see the growth; I want to see each stage of my college experience physically written through my perspective.