Journaling

I am new to journaling. It was the Oct. NYT article that piqued my interest and got me started. I might mention that I am 72 years old. I use it strictly as a therapist substitute. It works amazingly well. And the "sessions" are free and convenient! I don't have any schedule. When there are negative feelings bottled up, I discharge them into my journal. And, voila!, I am cleansed. I would strongly recommend journaling to anyone who has thoughts that need to be vented.

I started writing journals last year as a freshman in high school to reflect on my seasons in Cross Country and Track. Everyday I write about what I did with the team, whether it was a workout or a race or an easy run or even any memorable moments that really stuck out to me. I really enjoy being on these teams, I've made a lot of relationships within them. So, why would I want to forget any of these moments? High school is brief and so are a lot of the relationships you make, so I try to enjoy the time I have and write about every experience because I know in about ten or fifteen years, those memories will be a treasure to me.

In elementary school, I started writing in a journal. As a shy kid it was a good way to express myself. I would often write about what I did that day. Sometimes I would write about my problem, it was a good way to unleash my stress. Looking back at my journal entries, I get to relive all my memories. Journaling is a good way to express your creativity, I think every kid should try journaling, as a past time or to even unleash their problems.

I do keep a journal, I got it from my cousin this summer, I like to use it to organize my thoughts and keep a plan for the future and present. I use it to motivate myself and reflect on the day. It's a very good stress reliever when I have had a bad day or just need to get some weight off my soldiers. I really like writing in it due to how I can just keep writing, and keep finding new ideas in those writings that will motivate me throughout the day. There are times where I just need to write in my journal, if I don't, the pain of having all that stress with no outlet to let it out from would be unbearable. Having a place where I can write my personal feelings and unleash my creativity has been a very important part of my life since I received the journal this summer.

Journaling has always been apart of my daily routine. I started to write in a journal in elementary school and since my parents loved to move around a lot I was always transferred school to school. Growing up it wasn't easy making friends never mind opening up to people. When I wasn't able to talk to people I was always able to write in my journal. Writing in my journal has always made my problems go away. Whether it was about how much I missed my older sister or the little things like when I got angry at my siblings. But at times I would write about my memories and all the things that went on in the day. Having a journal I was able to always look back and read through those memories and it felt like it was just today.

Journaling was a way for me to stay connected with both myself and my sister, and it enabled me to process what happened throughout my hectic day. Although I do not do it as often as I would like nowadays, I always found journaling to be really relieving. As someone who often overthinks and keeps things to myself, by writing my inner thoughts on a page, it was therapeutic. I would never talk about my feelings to another person, but by jotting it down, I could easily pour out my frustrations without fear of judgement. I did this a lot when I was away at a summer program, and felt a bit stressed from doing the coursework and also being away from home. I would journal everyday and describe what happened, how I felt, and any trials and tribulations that made me feel a certain type of way. I would then copy this and email my entries to my sister, and she would do the same when she was away for the summer as well. It allowed us to be connected even if we were not physically together. The article mentions that "writing is fundamentally a organizational system," and I agree wholeheartedly. It really helped me reflect on my day and analyze what went wrong, and how I could better myself as an individual. It helped me communicate and articulate my thoughts better. By journaling, it also creates memories, it is always nice to look back at your past self every now and then.

Journaling has been a hobby of mine ever since I was a young kid. When I first started to keep a journal, it was more of a superficial thing. Other kids in my class kept diaries and journals, so I had one and wrote in it from time to time talking about the latest drama going on in the third grade class. As I grew older, I started to develop more of a real love for journaling. Whenever there was something that I knew I couldn't tell anyone, I would write it in my journal. When I had a bad day and felt like there was no one I could talk to about it, I would let everything out in a journal. Not only do I write about things I need to get over, but I also use it to write about memories that I want to remember, or that I can look back at when I'm not having the best day. I think that keeping a journal is a really beneficial way to improve mental health, and practice expressing your feelings in a meaningful, relaxing, and helpful way.

As someone who tends to bottle up emotions on the inside, I do not have a journal or write daily about what I am feeling. I would love to try it but I have the fear of others getting ahold of it and reading my true thoughts and feelings and to truly see what is behind the smile I put on. One way I love to express my emotions is by creating stories. I make up stories and characters that are very similar to me. Whether it be the problem that I am going through or the characteristics that I have. I have the power to make these characters say and do anything. If I can't properly express myself, I can make these characters express themselves in the way that I can't. I can even change the story around. If someone were ever to read my stories no one would really know that I'm practically the main character and It's my problems. If I talk to someone I feel as I am putting all of my problems onto them and who knows what they are going through. I do not want to be a burden to anyone. This helps me through a lot and it also helps me improve my writing. I also love to take pictures and videos as it reminds me that the environment that surrounds me is beautiful. It makes me look back on the day and gives me a sense of happiness.

I was a heavy journaler when I was younger. I would write everything in my journal from hwo I was feeling to what I did oe even what my cat did; everything to me felt important. Throughout the years it fell off of me and it sort of makes me sad that I no longer do it but, it was complicated. I would always catch my little brothers reading it and I just had that little feeling that my mom was also reading it which very much bothered me. I've stopped and started mulitiple times, one time I even created an entire secret alphabet- which I still remember- and I would journal with that. I am currently on an off moment with my journal because I haven't been able to find a journal that spoke to me. Although journals are inanimate objects, I still like to think that when I journal, the journal itself is absorbing my words and thouhgts and feelings and I don't want just any journal to do that. Journaling has sort of helped me through emotions. Most recently when I journal I write about something that made me mad so I can get it off my chest but, now I have people to talk to when I get really angry so my journal- or all 6 of them really- are just sitting on my shelf.. waiting.

Journaling has helped me through some challenging moments when I had no other way to process my feelings. I tend to bottle up my feelings and I am reluctant to talk about what is bothering me, but by journaling I can write about what is bothering me and process these feelings. Journaling is also a way to self reflect and look back on how much you have improved in certain aspects in your life. I believe that journaling is beneficial for everyone and everyone should try it.

Journaling is something that I did all throughout my last year at summer camp. The camp that I've gone to for seven years of my life has provided me with some of the best friends that I could have. When my age group arrived on the first day of out last year of camp, our counselors encouraged us to keep a journal of special moments and anything that happened daily that we wanted to remember, as it was our last year and our memories would soon fade. Looking back, I'm eternally grateful that I was told to keep that journal. In times of stress and sad times I'm able to look back and read through memories and relationships that may not currently exist, but having the opportunity to remind myself of the emotions that came with the time is good enough. Knowing the positive impact that journaling can have on my mental health is extremely beneficial. I am able to push rough times aside and look to old memories that make me smile. Everyone should take five minutes out of their day to try to journaling and see how it changes their mindset.

I highly believe that journaling is very therapeutic. In times of need and no one to go to there is always an empty note book that I can go to. Though it may not be for everyone, it is really good to organize your thoughts.

I strongly believe that journaling daily is something people should be do more frequently. I think it is a great way to have a moment to yourself to reflect on the high and lows that happened in your day or week. Journaling is a great way to show progress on a problem you might have. Writing down your feelings regarding a situation can be quite therapeutic. Sometimes it is difficult for people to talk to others about a problem in their lives, so writing in a journal is great way to get out how you are really feeling. Journaling can be used for writing goals for yourself, which is a great way to be more productive and organized with your mental health. I remember starting to write in a journal at the start of high school, and it is fascinating reading it now. It is interesting to see how much I changed. Personally, I turn to journaling in times of stress and sadness to make my thoughts more organized and less chaotic and scattered.

Journalism has helped me through many experiences in my life. I have many journals for different reasons: my feelings, experiences, and listing goals. When I write it makes me feel better as an individual. To this day I look back and see where I've came from and where i'm going. Furthermore, journalism shouldn't be forced but should come naturally. I've came to a conclusion that journalism isn't for everyone and that's okay.

Many people (including myself) may have the perception that in order journal you must set aside time to physically sit down with a pen and paper and write about what is happening in your life. However, I feel that that perception is quite dated. I have recently learned that journaling does not mean all those things. Journaling can be as simple as writing things down in the notes in your phone. I feel as if this form of journaling is unknown to many people, but in reality is such an easy way to be able to reflect and process what is happening in their lives.

To some, journalism may seem like a waste of time and or not useful. I too was blinded to believe this until It was recommended to me by someone I admire. Initially, I could not continue to record my thoughts on a normal basis, but as times changed this strategy had helped clear my mind more than I could have imagined. By journaling, I was able to transfer the jumbled thoughts from my head onto the paper. I was able to read my words back and make sense of things I was thinking. Without even knowing it, I could finally identify my feelings and reflect. This strategy is not for everyone, but I would defiantly recommend giving it a try. It could help in times where you thought you did not even need it.

Although I never been able to keep up a streak of journaling, I do enjoy it now and then. There are some weeks where I'll write out pages and pages of my feelings, and other times where I won't even touch a journal for months. My journaling tendencies fluctuate based on what's going on in my life. If I'm upset about something, I write it down, like I'm taking the problem out of my head and putting it on paper. If I'm happy, I like to write down my feelings to remember them for a later time. It's nice to have an outlet to pour my feelings into, especially if I don't want to burden my friends. Journaling helps me to clear my mind and feel organized. Honestly, it's relaxing. If I force myself to journal every day, it becomes a tedious task. That's why I really only do it when my feelings become overwhelming. It's kind of a coping method for when I'm stressed, or upset, or conflicted. I'm the type of person who always needs to feel organized, and journaling is a way for me to organize my feelings.

I kept journaling for a long time, long before I graduated from school. I kept this habit even while being in the university, tracking everything from what I ate to how well I slept, i.e. writing down everything happening around my life. Until... I found it to be useless to be open only to the past, when you can embrace the future, i.e. not paying enough attention to your future, i.e. present, and investing a bunch of time collecting past events, it's a little bit different mindset.