I know what you are thinking, and no, I am not trying to persuade you to keep a diary. Diaries are cool, don't get me wrong, but journal has a nicer ring to it. Back in my naive days, or yesterday, I would've told you that journals and diaries have the same concept. Well, after an extensive search and/or the use of Google, it turns out that they are very different. Diaries are personal books of events and experiences, while journals have the same events and experiences, but also raw and descriptive emotions that accompany these life experiences. So now that we know the difference between a diary and journal, let's dive in to why in the world you should write down your personal emotions in a book of blank pages.
Journals are the gateway into the past, whether it be good, bad, or downright ugly. Whether you are trying to avoid the tears hitting your fresh page of writing, or if you are struggling to finish a page because your cheeks are in pain from smiling ear to ear, your journal will hold onto all of these emotions. There are hundreds of reasons why journals are incredible, but here, I give you the five that are most pertinent to my journal-writing.
1. It is all about you.
There is no time-cap, word limit or assigned topic. This is all about you and what you want to say. You may scribe poems, small anecdotes, the feeling of heartbreak or anything that your heart desires. It doesn't have to make sense to anyone else, because no one else will ever read it (hopefully), and if they do, boy do I hope karma bites them in the ass.
2. No one is there to judge you.
There are no book critics that will raid through your writing and ask you questions. Your journal is that friend who simply listens to you when you need to vent and that friend that is there 24/7. No judgments or disagreements, just you emptying out all of those bottled up emotions that are difficult to say out loud.
3. They are a lot cheaper than a therapist.
Your journal may not spew out solutions to your life problems, but it sure is not $100 a session. By essentially conversing with your inner-self about your issues, your mind allows you to create solutions for these issues without sitting in a cold room, telling a stranger every problem you have in your life.
4. You will feel lighter.
I wish I was talking about physical weight-loss, but unfortunately that is not the case. Although it would be nice to drop a few pounds from journal-ing, relieving emotional weight is just as beneficial. By journal-ing thoughts and organizing them, you will find clarity with your life challenges and struggles.
5. Progress.
When you keep a journal, you reserve the right to look back at your past entries. This allows you to identify personal growth and get to know yourself better. There is something heart-warming about seeing your old, struggling self, and comparing it to your present self. It gives you hope because the old you may have almost given up, but the new you is so happy that you didn't. Seeing the progress you have made is both inspiring and enlightening. It inspires us to push forward through our difficult times and it enlightens us because we know better times are on the way.
Journal-ing doesn't have to be either a record of your interactions with your crush or your deepest emotions. Journal-ing is whatever you want it to be. By journal-ing, you allow yourself to possibly be a part of world history. Think of all the famous people who connected with others through journal-ing: Anne Frank, Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan and maybe even (insert your name here) in a few years.
