Healthy + Well writer: Clarisse Liclic
Image via Unsplash
About a year ago, I finally started journaling. I, for one, have seen my fair share of Pinterest journaling posts that seemed so impossibly far from achievable (to which I still will never have the patience for actual bullet journaling). It wasn’t till I started my second year of university that I decided to revisit this ancient idea when I realized that having so much to balance all at once and a constant stream of conscious thought was something I couldn’t mentally maintain. Journaling was my solution.
I started journaling as a favor to my future self. I wanted to be able to look back at this incredible, yet undeniably stressful, period of my life and remember how much I worked and what it took for me to get where I’ll eventually be. That feeling of appreciative nostalgia and content was something I wanted to reward myself in the future. I think the idea of being able to look back on my experiences, from not only my memory but my own voice, is a gift I’d wonderfully invest in.
There isn’t a single successful way to start journaling, but there are ways in which you can actually hit the ground running and take it with you for weeks, months, years to come.
Set Your Own Rules
Write what you want to write. Write when you want to write. Age old writing advice usually falls back on this idea of forcing yourself to write something every single day. This is no doubt a helpful practice for other forms of writing, but in my past attempts to journal under this idea, it turned what I hoped to be a personal hobby into work. Of course, you’re welcome to write every day if that’s something you enjoy or can stick to. On the other hand, I’ve found it much easier to approach journaling with a mindset of writing when I have something to get out rather than writing and forcing myself to get something out just for the sake of it.
Don’t Get Caught Up in the Aesthetic
If you’re anything like me, your journaling attempts in the past might have been way too focused on perfecting the aesthetic. I’ve seen so many photos of others’ journal pages, wondering just how they managed to effortlessly structure their writing in a way that was so visually pleasing. By all means, if you’re into the multicolored felt pens and cursive fonts and stickers then absolutely go for it! I used to get caught up on the fact that my journal pages looked nothing like what I had seen, and it would discourage me from continuing. Let your journal pages be as messy and convoluted as you want them be!
Figure Out Why You Want to Do It
As I mentioned before, I wanted journaling to be a physical time capsule of my daily life as I navigate my way through college. In the future I know I’d have old papers and a resume of accomplishments to look back on, but having a journal will let me see my own growth as a person with whatever challenges and moments that come my way. I want to be able to look back at my old experiences, from loving someone for the first time to academic-fueled breakdowns to being in new places, beyond what my memory could provide for me.
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