How would you define a commonplace journal?
oooo well while i traditionally always have an entry about commonplacing as my first page in mine, they're not in my own words and i feel like this is asking for me to define it as such. so let me preface this with: i do tend to combine it with my planner, because i write things down most regularly when ive only got one notebook to keep track of. the bonus of this is that i get to look back on the picture of my life as a whole. oftentimes, the things i write down have something to do with what's going on in my life. quotes or lyrics or research because it is relevant. but, as a standalone, a commonplace journal is a means to look at myself from the outside a little more. planners/diaries tend to be very raw looks at myself. things i must do, things i have done, thoughts i have about them. rants and dreams and notes about my health. yes, this is me, this is how i keep track of things, how i might feel in a moment but not necessarily how i end up after processing things. a commonplace is more akin to glancing myself in a mirror's reflection of myself within another mirror. if a diary-type journal is a mirrored reflection, a commonplace is double that. i perceive myself as others might -- glances at what moves me, what interests me, what is special to me. others do not get to look at my diary, but i'd happily share my commonplace entries with someone. not only that, but it is a kinder way to reflect on myself. in a diary, i write in a stream of consciousness style where i do not necessarily stop myself from going to extremes, because i honestly need to in order to realize i am overreacting. i'll read things back and see i am just being silly or now that the emotion is over with, i no longer feel that way. i do not want others reading these things, because just because i wrote something there, i do not always still feel the same after writing it. but in my commonplace, i really might only gather a quote or lyric that alludes to how i am feeling, when i have too much emotion inside me. or perhaps relates to something far in the past. or again, research, playlists, notes about video games, patterns, memories, even little doodles... these are more like little postcards ive sent myself to help keep track of where i've been. or kind of like a photo album, but with words, i guess? and yes, still a few pictures, but usually of works i like rather than photos of my life. (but occasionally those, too!
i do often blur the lines of diary journaling and commonplace journaling. i end up being a little too personal in my commonplace. i do have an update regarding how ive been using notebooks recently coming, now that i've really solidified my system, but this was lovely to come back to tumblr to first. thanks for asking! i could go on much longer but i think this is a good place to wrap it up lol. but if anyone wants me to elaborate on anything, lmk! i will gladly lol
