Nicole Frontera is a freshman intending to major in Communication. Since freshman year of high school, Nicole has kept a journal and has journaled consistently.
Her Campus: What made you start journaling?
Nicole Frontera: In sixth grade, my grade made shoebox time capsules to open when we reached eighth grade. In eighth grade, I had a lot of fun opening mine, which gave me the idea to start writing to my future self so that I would have some way to look back on my memories and see what was going on in my life at the time.
HC: What are some tips for others who want to journal?
NF: My biggest tip for journaling is to not get discouraged if you don’t do it every day or even regularly! It can be time consuming to write in a journal and it is impossible to do so every day. I try not to be concerned with how many entries I write but what is really important to me is having meaningful entries to look back on.
HC: Do you ever look back on your past journals?
NF: I try to not look back on my entries until the end of the year or sometimes the end of the school year. This way I have the chance to forget some of what I have written. This makes it more satisfying when my writing brings up memories that I had completely forgotten about. It leaves anticipation when I am looking back on my writing.
HC: What is the hardest thing about journaling for you?
NF: One of the hardest things for me about journaling is sticking with it when my life gets hectic. For example, when I first came to college it was hard to keep up with journaling because I was busy getting adjusted and my day was always full. Yet, the beginning of college is also full of memories I want to look back on.