Journaling used to be such a chore for me. My mom would always encourage it when I was younger, buying notebooks at Walmart and telling me to write about my day. I found myself reaching for the notebook only when I felt intense emotions, like getting in trouble in class or being scolded by my parents. Instead of being a reflective tool, it became something that was filled with pain and anger, leaving it blank when I felt accomplished and proud of myself. This in turn shunned me away from writing as I associated it with negativity and I slowly stopped as I reached my high school years.
During the lockdown, I started cleaning my room out of boredom and stumbled across these old journals. I spent hours going down memory lane, events that felt so significant in the past weren’t even a fleeting thought in my brain now. All these intense emotions I felt made me into the person I am today. I laughed, felt embarrassed, and sympathized with my past self. Regret washed over me, as I didn’t reach for my journal at all during high school, a time when I definitely needed it the most. This remorse drove me to pick journaling back up and I can proudly say I have since filled up three journals. Here are some tips that I recommend if you want to start or get back into keeping a journal.
Associate journaling with things you enjoy. Romanticize it by lighting a candle beside you as you write about your day. Put on that cozy show you watched a thousand times and allow your writing to flow alongside it. Write about that recent book that you loved or the new album your favorite boy group just released. Connecting your favorite activities alongside journaling will create positive reinforcement, and I found myself reaching for my journal in an upbeat mood.
Allow yourself freedom within the journal, it should be a place where you are allowed to express yourself with no limits. It can be as plain as you want, or it can be filled with photographs and stickers. Personally, buying stationery is part of the reason I love journaling so I love to clutter mine with all sorts of scraps and memorabilia. It’s important to find what style you prefer to make the experience enjoyable. If you find that it’s hard to spill your thoughts on paper, finding a prompt may be helpful. I used prompts with topics of self-discovery and reflection. Over time, writing just came naturally and I no longer needed these prompts as a starting point.
As your journal gets more worn out, you’ll realize how far you’ve gotten and how easy it is to write without overthinking. Journaling has benefited me by allowing me to process my emotions and thoughts in a healthy way. I’ve learned so much about myself by simply writing about my thoughts and allowing them to guide me in my next steps in life. There is no harm in getting started, so grab that pen and journal and start writing!