Write it down
I have been journaling since I was twelve years old. A treasure trove of secrets and inner most thoughts, journaling has a free associated aspect attached to it, allowing your mind to wander, doodle, dream, vent, reflect.
It started for me as a place to relate and connect with myself in an otherwise lonely and confusing stage in my life. As I wrote, I would gain clarity. Over time, I could look back on old journals and see patterns emerging and ultimately the journals became tools to learn more about myself.
Recently a flood in my parents basement damaged my first journal relegating it to a faded pile of dust and moldy pages that disintegrated upon touching them. The cover was just as I remembered it, red corduroy with little blue and white flowers on it. The cover was thick and slightly padded and I was awash in memories. I keep what’s left of this old journal preserved in a Ziploc bag on a shelf next to my desk to remind me of those adolescent days and how far I’ve come. But also as a reminder of WHO I am. I’m the same person who wrote between those faded red corduroy covers all those years ago. Still writing, still learning, still discovering.
Journaling is a cornerstone of my daily routine. I use it as a way of checking in, holding space and creating accountability for myself. There are no rules, no expectations. Much like going for a walk, you just set out and see where the path takes you. Some people make journaling part of their morning or evening routine, some carry a journal with them so they can write whenever the urge strikes.
However, whenever, and wherever journaling takes place, I honestly don’t know where I’d be without it. As the great Anne Frank wrote, "It’s an odd idea for someone like me to keep a diary; not only because I have never done so before, but because it seems to me that neither I — nor for that matter anyone else — will be interested in the unbosomings of a 13-year-old schoolgirl. Still, what does that matter? I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart." 📕
