Return of the Journal.

My very first journal was a little black diary given to me by my Mom back in the early 2000's. It was branded by the bank she worked at and i would get a diary every year for the next 10+ years whether i asked for one or not. I knew about journaling in my formative years thanks to many days of being burrowed between pages of Sweet Valley High and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole so starting one was easy. I simply wrote my thoughts of how i thought my day went and experiences with the persons in my life. These were little diaries with not much space to fully express my thoughts so i would often continue my writings into the other pages. I went back one time to read these diaries which i had packed into a shoebox and hidden under my bed lest it be discovered and i be disowned. 😝 What a cringy experience that was! I couldn't believe the things i wrote and how my emotions were so raw and immature. How silly i was! But hey, i was growing and didn't know any better then. So many tears, anger and anxious emotions flowed out of the pages to me. A lot of emotional damage some which took me awhile to heal from and as i read them i was grateful I had healed.

It's been so many years since i journaled. But i have gone back to my favourite past time as one of my personal strategies for improving my mental and emotional wellbeing. Interesting enough I bought the beautiful journal and it's taken me 4 months to actually start writing in it (which i finally did two days ago). Why did it take me that long? I think i wanted to be more at peace instead of allowing my ongoing emotions rule my thoughts. That way i could write with more clarity of thought.

So yes, my new journal virginity has been gently broken and i have an outlet for all that life is raining on me. It's also a fantastic way for me to write my list of 5 Grateful Things at the end of each day. It's a seriously calming activity in this current world of negativity and high-strung stressful situations. I am super grateful for the opportunity to offload my burdens onto these gentle pages which listen without judgement.

I prefer paper journaling as there's a much lower risk of me losing my journal as compared to a laptop or phone which can be stolen or hacked. Paper journaling also allows me to use stickers! The old school style! I've always loved fun stickers from an early age mostly because the 'dada bee' kids would splash it all over their books and i would be so envious 😆 Kids! I found these wellness stickers recently at Acrilex and i was over the moon!

My journaling routine is early evening even though i am mostly exhausted by then. But i get to pen down a few words before sleep drowns me beneath it's murky waters.

Is journaling an activity you do as well? Or have you considered it?

I am glad i have found the peace and courage to return back to journaling.