I think everyone at some point was told to keep a journal, a diary—something that we consistently wrote in about how we were feeling. I don't know of many people that ever actually stuck to it. I know I tried a few times, but I always ended up forgetting about it or misplacing it. The common theme in whenever I started, though, was that I was really emotional. Now, this is not just bad "emotional" but good as well—just whenever I was super overwhelmed with everything going on in my head.

I remember losing someone really important to me. I felt empty and it was probably the scariest feeling I have ever had. I couldn't articulate my words out loud, but I did find an old, little notebook in which to write my thoughts down. When I found it cleaning out my room, it was insane because it took me back to what younger me felt; I could remember the fear and the pain I went through that made me who I am today. I was able to learn from that tear-stained book that sometimes writing is the only way to get yourself out of your own head. It was like writing everything down allowed me to let it go, and I was able to move on better because I knew I didn't forget it: I just set it down.

I also know that some of the coolest days of my life were when I was given a puppy for Christmas or when my little league softball team was in the championship game. I have found those journals where I wrote about those times, and I can again just pick up those emotions. I'm able to remember it like I'm still in that exact moment because I have it chronicled on paper. I have the memories, but the vivid use of physical words on paper just seems to make it all the more real. It acts as a portal to my past, and it is such a great thing whenever I forget the little things in my life.

Now obviously if you never wrote in a journal as a child you are probably like, "Great! This is useless!" but fear not, because there is still a stress-relieving factor in writing in the present. Just like reading past writing can take you back in time, it can also pause time for you. You are able to put your thoughts down in writing and see that not everything is bad. You are able to set the thoughts and ideas down and come back to them later. Not only will you feel better now, but you will also be so intrigued by yourself one year, two years, ten years or even later from now when you look back on what you wrote. You are leaving breadcrumbs of memories for you to follow back down whenever you feel lost in the world. Writing can help you find yourself again, and that is why it can take your stress away.