College is an overwhelming time. It is filled with new experiences, classes and many social opportunities. With all of this on your plate, it can be very easy to become overwhelmed and overbook yourself. Personally, I began missing time to myself. Journaling became a way for me to get everything off of my chest. It has become part of my nightly routine, and I have always enjoyed writing about anything that has to do with my life. Journaling is an awesome, informal resource for me to spew out my thoughts. Here are some things that I often find myself writing about, and I hope you find inspiration to start writing about your daily lives.
Write about your day:
This is the simplest way to start integrating journaling into your daily lives. The daily life of a college student can be very different every day. School during the week, work, hanging out with friends and of course homework. Each day comes with new struggles and new opportunities. If I have a wonderful day, I am always eager to write down the events and conversations that happened. I am always scared I will forget something, so writing it down at the end of the day gives me a sense of relief that I will be able to read it again. I also find some joy in reading through my journal entries from the previous year. It is great to read past entries and see what past memories it can bring up. Personally, simply writing about my day is something easy I really enjoy doing. It only takes a few minutes, and it gives me the mindset that I’m letting go of all the events that have happened that day. If it was a bad day, then writing it down clears the slate for tomorrow.
Focus on your emotions:
Journaling is one of the best outlets to express your feelings and frustrations. When I am confused on my own feelings or got into a fight with a friend, writing it out is the one thing that makes me feel relieved. Having your emotions bottled up inside is terrible. During college, downs are unavoidable. Journaling can calm almost any feelings. At the end of a hard day, I tend to harp on things. I find that when I write them down, I tend to worry about them less. One thing this helped me realize is that once things are done they are truly over. There is no need to worry and get anxious about things that are uncontrollable. I simply write down my thoughts and emotions by setting them free.
Add a motivational quote:
After writing an entry in my journal, I try to add a motivational quote at the very end. Of course, Pinterest is a wonderful source of quotes that you can apply to whatever you are feeling. I like to find a quote that sums up what I wrote about that day. If I wrote down anything about a hard day, I try to find an uplifting quote that will inspire me to have a great rest of my night. Then, I hope that it can carry me into the next day. Just a few motivational words can do wonders for the way you look at the world. If you think about how each day is a new opportunity to do great things in the world, then that’s what you’ll do. If you end each night excited for what the next day will bring, then there are truly no limits on what you can do. You will continue to blossom and bring more light into this world.
Write down your goals:
This isn’t something I necessarily do every day. I write down long term and short term goals every so often. When I have a little extra time, I like to write down some personal goals. Having these goals written down always gives me more motivation to follow through with them. No matter how simple, I always try to write them down. My goals vary from getting my homework done early, focusing on my internal happiness, or even having valued conversations with the people that I care most about.
These are a few of the things I find myself writing about the most. Journaling makes me feel a sense of comfort. It doesn’t matter if you write it down on a scrap piece of paper or a beautiful notebook. Releasing thoughts from my mind and onto paper has such an effect on me and my daily life. I hope that you consider integrating this into your life. If you’re looking for a cute journal I always find beautiful ones with patterns or motivational sayings at Target, TJMaxx and even 5 Below!