It gives you a chance to write without worry about spelling or syntax or cheesiness. You get to write whatever you want without having to think through what it's going to sound like to other people. It's just yours.
It helps you work through things. Sometimes you find yourself in a position where you want to talk about what's going on, but you really don't want anyone's advice other than your own. That's when a journal is a great thing to have.
You can write down why you're upset, who you're mad at, what you're excited about, how you screwed up, and not have to listen to any responses or suggestions.
It gives you something to look back on and see how you've grown. If you journal semi-regularly, you can flip back and see how you've grown and changed. How last year you reacted much differently to having your heart broken. How you used to use the word "impressive" in every other sentence. How what you journal about changes over the years.
There's no one better to tell you about how you've grown and changed than you.
It helps capture the little moments. I love instagram, because I can scroll through my feed and be reminded of all these memories. Journaling is like that, but with everything. You may not instagram how a stranger complimented you on your hair and it totally turned your day around, but you could write it down. You can't instagram the feeling of falling asleep on the couch next to the love of your life, but you can write about it.
Journaling helps you remember and savor the little moments that may not be deemed social media worthy, but are really the important things.
There are no rules. Want to journal once a day? Once a month? Whenever you feel like it? Awesome. Want to draw or scribble or write in terrible cursive? Great.
It's yours, so you can do whatever you feel like. It's not another stressful thing to add to your to-do list. It's just a creative outlet to track your memories. Do whatever you want to with it.
There are some seriously pretty journals. Like this one. And this one. Priorities, obviously.
Do you keep a journal?
