One day in college is actually more stressful than your whole high school years. That's not an exaggeration, but a fact.

My roommate was the one who recommended it to me as something I should try doing. She herself journals almost daily in a gorgeous leather-bound journal that I was immediately jealous of.

After listening to her tell me that journaling helps with her emotional and stress management, I looked up an app (I really wanted to buy a journal but I love my iPad a bit too much) and downloaded it and wrote an entry for the first day, not really thinking this would become such an impactful part of my day.

They say if you want to reach your goals, write them down. If you want to remember something, write it down. If you want to discover what's really going on in your mind, write it down.

I know I write frequently (these articles that I churn out are not to be taken lightly) and I read voraciously but I really did not think journaling was for me.

I had the same story as you: a diary as a kid and then, I never continued it and now, I don't even know where that diary is.

During high school, I used to write stuff on my laptop but now reading it, it was all teenage angst, which while entertaining, really didn't give me confidence in my ability to mindfully journal.

Because that was the crux of the problem: not just writing nonsensical words down (or in my case, typing them down) but actually being able to create a narrative that somehow will evoke some kind of eureka moment that will change me forever. Wasn't that what I was trying to seek from attempting to journal? I was looking for some kind of epiphany that struck me and made me happier and more successful in life. I will take 10 of those, please.

That's a common issue I have seen in a lot of people attempting to start a good habit in their lives. They think that now that they (for example) drink more water, they will suddenly become happier and more fulfilled in everything they do. That's not what drinking more water is about. Sure, you do start feeling better (and peeing way more) and start getting more energy and fewer headaches but if you rely on this habit to change your life? You are relying on the wrong thing.

Journaling shouldn't be approached as a life-changing journey that will bring you peace (neither should a trip to a developing country, for that matter. I see you, white folks) but as an exercise that is not the cause of the change you are trying to make but just another step along the hard journey that is looking at yourself and attempting change.

How you journal does not matter.

You could write 12 pages about your feelings each day if you want or look up ways of journaling and try to follow that. It really does not matter.

Journaling isn't about becoming a better person. It's about writing down things that you would never address otherwise.

I don't know the science behind journaling, but there seems to be something special about the connection between your brain and your hand physically writing something down.

Also, if you're looking for new ideas or you want to get to the bottom of something that's bothering you, journaling helps you tap into your subconscious and discover some of the issues that were in your blindspot.

You can structure your journal any way you want. Keep a journal for three months (just one quarter for you folks in a quarter system like me) and I bet you'll improve your life in some shape or form.

Why is it so powerful?

The commitment alone builds credibility with yourself. Also, there's power in monitoring yourself on a daily basis.

If anything, journaling helps you address what's going on in your life. That's a start.

So go on and journal and find things about yourself that you already knew intimately and some things you did not.