One of the ways I organize my thoughts and life is by journaling. With a small little notebook, I vomit all my ideas and emotions on paper at the end of a long day. It's interesting to see what comes to mind first when I reflect on my day. But what's more interesting is rereading your journal—after a full year.
I did this recently, and my God, it was something. My diary read like an autobiography written by a completely different person. Scribbles, teardrops, coffee stains, and photographs sprinkled throughout the book, making it more authentic. The entries dated on the top right corner, everything written in a chicken-scratch script. There were some words I couldn't even decipher. However, the sentences I did encode left me either laughing or crying.
Your past tells you a lot about today.
Looking back in time can be extremely useful. Personally, I'm more of a futuristic-mindset person. But when I reread passages from a year ago, I could physically see my own character development right in front of me. 12 months is a lot of time to change a person. Sometimes, I read pages that weighed heavier than 20 pounds.
Sad memories or dark times, while hard to relive, are essential to acknowledge. You get to tell yourself that you did it. The person who wrote those words didn't think they could overcome their struggles, but they managed to in the end. You also get to laugh with your old self. Funny stories that leave your stomach sore and echoes throughout an empty room.
My favorite entries to read are the days that something life-changing happens. A turning point. A new chapter. A day that would change the rest of your life. For me, that was January 14th, 2018. I wrote about switching my major, and that impacted my journey ever since.
That day contained so many tears—both happy and sad. At the end of the night, after emailing the department heads and changing my schedule, I wrote down a small entry about my big change. Whenever I need motivation, I'll look back precisely to that day.
Just try it.
Regardless of whether you're a good writer or not, I highly encourage you to keep a journal. You could write five sentences or a full monologue about your day. Honestly, you get to make the rules. The benefits of keeping a journal are endless. Journals serve as a therapeutic pass time, practice for your writing, a cute way to document your life, and so on. Personalize it to your own aesthetic and claim it. Pour yourself onto blank pages so when you look back in a year or more, you can see how much you've grown as a person.
