There’s a stack of colorful, detailed journal covers that fill an entire shelf in my dorm room. Some are leathered, others embroidered with flower patterns, but one thing they all have in common is that all of the pages are pearly white. They aren’t empty because I have no thoughts, or because I don’t like writing, but because in my mind, one mistake would ruin the entire journal. I know I’m not alone.
We don’t just buy journals to write in them, but because of who we aspire to be with that notebook, like the girl who journals before bed with her colored pens and calligraphy markers. The girl who has her life together, all organized and put together. But every time I put ink on the paper, everything becomes real and imperfect. So, I choose not to fill the page, afraid of leaving an imperfect mark.
It’s honestly ironic, what’s the point of having a notebook if you aren’t going to write anything in it? It’s a waste of space and potential that just sits on the shelf. The true mistake in a journal isn’t a misspelled word, but rather one with no words at all. So here is my challenge for you: make your first page chaotic. Put pen to paper, misspell words on purpose, doodle, rant, and let your hand write without intention or direction. Let yourself be messy and don’t hold back because of guilt!
A journal isn’t “ruined” by imperfection, but by never being lived in. Take this lesson and apply it to your everyday life – go outside and live. Life isn’t meant to be pearly white and untouched. It’s meant to be scribbled in, crossed out, rewritten, and stained with experience.