Dear Diary, 

Today, Joe told me that he liked Becky instead of me. I hate boys. Done with them. 

When some of you think about “journaling”, this is probably the first thing you think of. However, we’re not nine years old anymore. Journaling at our age can not only be used for therapeutic purposes, but also a way to look back at our past five or ten years down the road. If you know me well, you would know that journaling has been an important part of my life for a few years now. Why do I do it? Like some of you, when trying to open up to someone, I get very jumbled and can’t really spit out the issue going on, good or bad. Journaling gives me the opportunity to pick apart everything that’s going on in my little brain, thus, making it easier for me to explain myself in certain situations. Beyond that, I can’t wait to be able to sit down years from now and read about my growth as a person. 

If you’re thinking to yourself, “Journaling is just weird to me and I don’t think I could do it”, here are some proven benefits that journaling can provide. Writing in general can be a huge de-stresser, which is why, to my understanding, a lot of people with mental illnesses tend to keep a journal. If you are struggling with something in your life, writing about it may help you to keep a positive perspective on it. It is not uncommon for your general mood to boost as well through writing. I want to stress to you that you don’t necessarily have to solely keep a journal for depressing matters and problems. It is actually more beneficial to combine positive entries into your journal as it helps with your general well-being and attitude towards certain things. You can also get to know yourself a lot better when writing: You become more in tune with your health by connecting with your inner self. Overall, journaling helps you to have a stronger mind, greater sense of confidence, and be more comfortable of your self-identity. 

Intermountain Healthcare goes more in depth of the benefits 🙂

Your next question may be, “Well, where do I even begin?” I would start off by deciding what kind of journal you would want to keep, as there are so many different ways and techniques to pick from. A great journal to start off with is a “gratitude journal”. This is strictly for writing things that you are grateful for. You could also choose to write at night, and write about things you are thankful for that happened that day. A more fun journal to keep is a “dream journal”. Some of you may have weird, vivid dreams at night and want to remember them forever. As soon as you can, to the best of your ability, write about your dream and laugh at it later. If you are more of a list type of person, try “bullet journaling”. It could be a bulleted list of goals you have, things you want to do in the next year, or even things you just need to do throughout the week. The options are endless. Finally, is a “writing journal”. This is common for your thoughts, writing from prompts you find, or even lyrics to a song you are writing.

Visit Jofelo.com for even more types of journaling 🙂

What makes journaling so special is that it is unique and personal to you yourself. It is for your eyes, and your eyes only, so write whatever you want to write. As for what you write in, Papier.com has an array of adorable notebooks to choose from, but if you’re more lowkey, a spiral notebook works just fine. Hopefully, you learned a little bit today, and appreciate writing and journaling even more.