Writing has always been a way for me to vent when I'm upset, write out the thoughts that I should not say out loud, and provide a space for me to have a creative outlet. I've always enjoyed writing poetry and journal entries. It is a skill that comes naturally for me. However, I have a tendency to not write on a consistent basis. Sometimes, I'll write every day for a period of time. Other times, I have dry spells, for months sometimes, not writing or doing a stream of consciousness, of pouring all of your thoughts in that moment onto the paper. The dry spells suck, and when I go back to writing after an extended vacation from it, I feel rusty at my craft.

Hayley Garron

Journal from: https://www.heyatlascreative.com/shop

A good friend of mine recently mentioned that she started journaling every day again. This is something that we both used to do in the past, but in our adult years, we both lost that passion and time for writing out our thoughts. So when she decided to pick up the pen and journal again, I decided that it would be a good idea for me to do it too.

For the last month, I've ended every evening with about twenty minutes of just straight journaling my thoughts. I've been pretty consistent with it. Some days I have more to discuss and think about with myself than others, but I try to write something every single day for consistency, even if it's just about my horoscope (yes, I write my daily horoscope in my journal entries). I have found that journaling is extremely relieving, and at the end of the session, I am always sad to put the pen down. But on a bad day, venting my thoughts, putting them onto the paper makes them tangible, and somehow, I always feel better after finishing the journal entry. On good days, I love to recount why the day was good, and what I'm looking forward to the next day.

My night routines are a sacred time for me; I love the me-time alone in my room with some good background music or YouTube videos, a face mask after a warm shower, and journaling. The moments that I bask in this routine put me in a much better mood the next morning, and I find my mental space so much less cluttered and stressed out about the insignificant dramas.

Commitment to something like this is hard, especially at the speed of which life moves. But take some time for yourself and your thoughts, and try journaling, twenty minutes a day, for the next week. I promise you will feel joy at the end of the section, and it will be an interesting record to reflect on your thoughts in ten years.