No. - 37 On Journaling
This is my journal—
I've been keeping a journal since around 1995. Over the years, I've used three-ring binders, composition notebooks, spiral notebooks, and hand-bound journals.
I would describe my journaling journey as a mix of good and bad. I've never consistently written every single day, and I don't view that as necessarily good or bad; it just is.
The Good
My strength is my consistent return to a notebook to express my thoughts. I use journals to work through my feelings, develop ideas, and document important moments.
The Bad
Without judgment, I recognize that my journaling has suffered at times when I held back. I've refrained from writing for various reasons: I thought my handwriting looked bad on that particular day, I felt that what I had to say wasn't relevant or worth recording, and I worried that if anyone ever saw my journal, they would think less or differently of me.
The Point
To be beautiful means to be yourself.-Thich Nhat Hanh
What I'm getting at is this: whether you're a veteran journal keeper or new to journaling, it should be enjoyable, a pleasure rather than a chore. It should be a safe space for you to be completely you. Some days, being you means having terrible handwriting because you're tired. Other days, you'll have beautiful handwriting but nothing to say—which is frustrating but also amusing.
Don't get caught up in creating beautiful journal pages, perfect prose, flawless grammar, or pristine handwriting. Instead, focus on the incredible possibility that in ten years, you'll have a stack of books documenting your life entirely from your own perspective.
Whether journaling serves as your legacy or remains a private endeavor—even if you plan to ceremoniously burn it someday while celebrating your wonderful life—it's a practice of self-discovery where you make up the rules as you go.
Journal when you want. Do it your way. Enjoy.
Thank you for reading, and if you listened to the voiceover, I would like to thank you for being patient with me as I learn more about recording voiceovers on this blog. I'm sure I will improve with time.
As an auditory learner, I do a lot of reading with my ears, so I plan to add voiceovers to all my posts. With practice, there should come improvement.
For auditory learners, I use an app called Speechify, which allows you to take clips or pictures of text, and then the app will read it to you. I've left my affiliate link below if you're interested.
Speechify - [https://share.speechify.com/mzuz8O5](https://share.speechify.com/mzuz8O5)