Journaling has been known for being a healthy outlet to vent out emotions and a refreshing way to express yourself. In more ways than one, it can provide a safe space to spill all of your thoughts and feelings onto paper.
When I had first heard of journaling, I didn’t take it too seriously since I thought that the idea was very overhyped. When our first quarantine came in March of 2020, my perspective on journaling changed. I felt the lowest I ever had in my life, bottling up a cesspool of emotions and having no safe way to let them out. Thinking back on the idea of journaling, I decided to give it a try.
My Experience
I picked a leftover composition notebook from school, put a sticker on it, and began my first entry. To be completely honest, I had a difficult time with it. Instead of focusing on what I was writing, I was focused on my handwriting and my hand cramping. I decided to stop and try again the next day.
When I tried again, I still didn’t feel comfortable with it. I thought of ways to make my experience better. Then I thought, I’ve been completing assignments online on google Docs for school, why don’t I try journaling on an online document?
I think that was the best idea I’ve ever had. It was so much easier to type everything onto a document. My first entry on there wasn’t anything special, but I was able to talk about my day. As time went on, I wrote more entries. I was able to sit and analyze my thoughts and feelings – something I’ve never done before.
What a relieving feeling!
The Beauty of Journaling
Due to the fact I had been journaling my thoughts, the heavy feeling I was carrying on my shoulders disappeared. I wasn’t even carrying anything relatively heavy, but being able to let everything out was an amazing feeling. Expressing thoughts into words with nothing to worry about felt very liberating.
That’s something I love about journaling. There’s no limit nor rules – you can write to your heart’s content. Something I also love is looking back at past entries. After reading my older entries the other day, I felt better about myself. I was very proud of myself for improving my mindset over time—something that was clear within my journal entries. It was also a bit odd to read my exact thoughts from a year ago, but I definitely feel like I’ve matured.
Journaling will not solve your problems, but it will allow you to find ways to better cope with these problems. That makes it beautiful. It gives you the opportunity to analyze how you feel instead of keeping them unattended inside your mind. Not to mention, it’ll also help you find new ways to put your feelings into words.
Even if you don’t have any life-changing events to vent about, I still recommend journaling for everyone. It gives you the perfect opportunity to talk about anything and everything. Whether you use a physical journal or an online document, journaling will help you stay in touch with your emotions. Give it a try!
