Journaling it is not just a record of the day, or of your thoughts. Some say it's an art, a stress reliever, or an inexpensive form of emotional therapy. Journaling is more than just pen, paper and words. Journaling is a relationship, consisting of a correspondence between the world, your journey, and your heart.
I started journaling when I was in third grade. I had a pen pal who sent me a pink journal with a picture of a cat on the cover. My pen pal was quite a few years older than I was, so of course, I thought she was the coolest person in the world. Her gift to me was magic. I wrote down everything I did during the day in the best third grade grammar and penmanship I had. Everything from, what I ate at breakfast, what I watched on TV, to what I cried about that day.I was consistent, just like anyone else would be with journaling; and I wrote everyday for about...a week. But I was consistently, inconsistent. I would go about my days without writing, but every so often, something would bring me back to the pages that would be my silent confidant. The pages would bear however heavy the burdens were, however painful the wounds, however joyful the news, however hollow the heart was and however wet the tears were.
The years passed and I left my pink journal to the keepsake of my mother's home and I flew halfway around the world for education's name. I don't know how it happened but eventually I found myself writing on spiral bound, college ruled notebooks bought from Walmart. My handwriting was horrendous, and I was too cheap to spend money on a book my hand writing would desecrate. So I stuck with the notebooks, and oh how I have accumulated the notebooks!
I eventually learned that in my years of journaling, every book I journaled in, no matter what kind, always had enough pages for a season of my life; and mind you, it wasn't planned. I was still inconsistent as ever! I began noticing this trend when I started college.
My last journal had ended after high school graduation. I moved to a new country and began a new journal. It ended after a summer I would never forget, a summer that changed my life. The next season that came was a season of storm. Again the journal ended with the season, when I was able to look back on all that happened and realized I lived to write about it.
In 2013, to celebrate the New Year, I decided on getting a new journal - NEW in every sense of the word. I was done with the cheap notebooks, and I wanted to invest in a more meaningful book to hold my heart. This was a symbol to how I wanted the new year to be. I wanted to do life differently.
I went to the store by myself with all the time in the world, I had to be picky about what book I was to buy. It wouldn't just be a book, it would be my companion for that next season of life.
The journal I picked out is still with me today; and I am still consistently inconsistent with writing, but major milestones are written within its pages. There are stories of high's and low's, tears and joys, love and hate, faith and doubt, clarity and confusion.
Now, as I am approaching the end of one journey and preparing for a major life move, I decided to see how many pages I had left in my journal. Sure enough, the number of pages left will be exactly how much I need to document how this season of life will turn out to be.
I do not know how avid of a "journaler" you are, or how well you can relate to this. But, obtaining a journal is a ceremony in itself. Here are a couple pointers that I observed that are key to picking out the right journal
- Take your time!
- - If you are rushed then you will make a decision you could regret. This is a book you can potentially take everywhere with you.
- Catch your eye-
- If you are anything like me, you would judge a book by its cover. So consider what kind of cover would catch your eye. What kinds of book covers have you been attracted to? What kinds of journals have you had in the past? Which had your favorite covers?
- Reflect your color -
- Color is not just your favorite color, its the one your eye looks at and is drawn to. Pick a color that you know you would most likely pick when you are in any mood, a color that seems to welcome you in and you feel safe with.
- Feel the shape and texture -
- I like to hold the book in both hands, feel the weight, feel the texture of the cover and pages. The book should also fit within my hands like an old friend's hands would.
- Know your weight -
- I like to journal in places of solitude, often times reaching those places requires hiking, therefore I tend to pick lighter-weight books. Think about how much luggage you can take when you go to the places you do to journal, or if you travel for vacation. Think about how your journal would do in packing for those events. You don't want a heavy weight journal you can never take with you.
- Keep your space -
- One of my pet peeve is when the spine of the book does not lie all the way flat when opened, this makes the opposite page stay up and hit my hand when I am writing. It does not provide much space for my hands to move across the pages. Does this bother you too?
- Know your lines-
- Think about how spaced out the lines are, what color the lines are, or if you want lines in the pages at all. Also beware of some journals having pre-printed Bible verses or inspirational quotes on the pages. Because of my carefree and sporadic handwriting, I need lines to keep my sentences straight. But if it weren't for this, I would pick a book with blank pages, it gives me more freedom to not just write words, but to draw pictures when words are not enough to capture a moment.
- See how it falls -
- When you drop the book, will it open up its pages readily? I am very private with my journals, I'd be happy if nobody on this earth ever read my journals. I picked a journal that had an enclosing cover that had a magnetic clasp for the front. There are many designs to pick how you want your journal to be private, some have actual locks on the journal.
Ultimately, in picking a journal, one doesn't necessarily find a book to "reflect your personality" or "who you are"; but rather "who you trust", and "what feels or looks safe" to you. Journaling should be safe, writing down what is in the heart is a scary and vulnerable task in itself. The book that encloses the words of someone's heart and soul should be worthy enough to bear those words.
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