Why you should keep a journal
“I believe keeping a record, visual or written, is good for you. It helps you to clear your mind, develop your ideas, and know yourself better. It allows you to be emotional and honest as well as grumpy and pathetic.”
Journaling really forces you to express your thoughts and feelings and allows you to get to know yourself better. If you’re lonely, you can always depend on your journal. It’s all yours, and you can do whatever you want with it.
Buy a journal at your local dollar/school/work supply store, or just make your own. You can use a simple notebook or something fancy like a Moleskine. You can even have multiple different journals. I usually just make my own journals to save money.
“I think it’s nice to have different kinds of paper with you. Traveling with just a Moleskine is stressful in a silly way because they make you feel like everything you put in them has to be genius. So I like to bring a cheaper book as well, usually, and loose leaf paper.”
Get into the habit of using your journal every day. Use your journal as often as possible, even if you just write a few words in it a day. Bring your journal wherever you go for whenever inspiration hits. You don’t have to follow a specific format — you don’t even have to write down the date. Just do what feels right to you.
How to customize a journal
I always make sure my journals embody a certain aesthetic. I’ll paste pictures, clippings and stickers all over my journals, I’ll write lyrics on/in them, I’ll only use certain pens and markers… stuff like that. So just go with whatever aesthetic/vibe it is that you’re feeling and go from there.
“My journaling system used to be that each journal I went through had a different aesthetic. For a month (or however long it took me to use up that journal) I would be very specific about what types of pens I used, what colors I used, what clippings I pasted, what doodles I drew, my handwriting, etc… Now my journals are more mixed up. But it’s nice to look back and see a whole kind of movie play out as I’m reading about what was happening and imagining it all fitting together in this synesthetic way.”
Decorate the cover. I usually do this when I’ve completed my journal, so I’m sure what will suit the journal’s aesthetic best.
Mood boards can really help get you inspired. Collect a bunch of pictures of things and people you like and put them together, and you should get an idea of what you want your journal to look like.
Collect things in the back of your journal, press flowers between the pages, tie a ribbon around your journal, doodle all over the place… anything that makes you happy.
What should I write about?
You can write about whatever you want, but if you’re really out of ideas, here are a few.
Music (bands/musicians you admire, lyrics)
Lists of things you want/need to do
Outfit inspiration (paste in pictures of outfits you want to recreate)
Things people have said that meant a lot to you
Document important events and conversations. Note down important songs, things people have said, reasons to be alive… anything.
Journals are incredibly fun to look back on, so make sure you don’t miss anything important. You really get an insight on what your past self was thinking and doing, and any feelings or events you might’ve felt or experienced at the time. I love flipping through old journals when I have nothing to do.
Don’t be such a perfectionist
Your journal doesn’t have to look “good” all the time, and neither does your handwriting! Your journal doesn’t need to be organized, and restricting yourself will only make your journaling experience stressful. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and you might start hating your journal halfway through it, but keep going. Really force yourself through it, because you’ll be happy once you finish your journal.
Keep a small box and fill it with pictures, letters, post cards, clippings, notes, birthday cards, ribbons, materials and other little things you may need for your journal. Slowly, include these things in your journals. Keeping everything in one place will also keep you from losing everything you really need for journaling.
Lastly: Have fun and good luck!
baratheonpilled
prguitarman
turnnoffyourmind
areudirty
