Reasons to keep a journal

Keeping a journal has always been important to me. From a small age, when my hands were still made of baby fat and my eyes knew very few words, I began writing in a journal as a way of entertaining myself. It all started with a fuzzy blue diary complete with lock and key, my mother gave it to me so I could doodle and let my feelings out of my head and onto the paper. I don't think she realized at the time how important this little journal would become for me. It was here where I learned to write stories, understand my emotions, laugh at the world around me and discover what it meant to be Amy. This journal was my home. It taught me about myself and helped me to discover the world I live in.

My journal was my sea in which I swam, my wishbone and my friend. I am forever grateful to the journal makers and journal buyers of the world for giving everybody a voice and a place to tell their own story. Here are my reasons for keeping a journal. Let me know your reasons in the comments!
  
Why you should keep a journal:
  • Journal writing is therapeutic. When you have tear filled eyes after a bad day, you can always count on the pen meeting the empty pages of your journal as a way of making yourself feel better. Writing in your journal is like talking to a friend whom you can trust wholeheartedly.
  • A journal is a place for self reflection. Two years from now, you can look through your journals and see how much you have grown.
  • You learn to write for yourself: not for an audience and not for an applause. In this day and age of instant gratification and social media sharing, we often forget why we began writing or creating art in the first place. Why does one begin writing? We write to express our inner workings and the world we see with words and to delight and entertain ourselves too.
  • You don't have to worry about being judged for your writing. Your journal is a cathedral only you can visit. You can fill it with flowers, pastries, cement, dirt and whatever else comes to your mind while you're writing in it. What matters most is being effortless and comfortable while you write, not how beautiful it would flow for someone else reading it.
  • Some of the best writing I've ever read was the journal writing of poets, ordinary folk, history-makers and authors published posthumously. However which way you look at it, journal writing is the greatest non-fiction ever penned. It tells our story. It tells stories of the world in which we live. It might scare you to think one hundred years from now, your journal could be read by a social history class or your great grandchildren, but it will mean your world and way of seeing it meant something to someone. Don't keep yourself from journal writing because you are afraid of becoming a part of history. Think of Anne Frank, Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath.
  • Journal writing is fun. You can write in lists, in paragraphs, in doodles and in poems. Your journal is your own world.
  • The brain is fickle, you can't rely on it to keep your memories safe. We always remember moments and times in our lives a little differently than how they actually came to be. Your journal is a museum for your memories. It keeps them safe for you.
  • If you're an aspiring writer, journals help you to communicate your thoughts. You can become a better writer with the honesty you put into your journal. If you're a friend, journals give you reasons to be empathetic and more understanding.
  • You don't need to be a writer to benefit from keeping a journal. You just have to be a human being with feelings. When did it become that writing was meant only for those pursuing novels, songs and published works of art? Writing should exist the same way fresh air does: to help us get to where we need to be, to remind ourselves that we are alive and to make this world a better place to belong to.
Happy Journaling!

 
   The Outfit
Skirt – Oasap
  Cardigan Zara (years ago)
 White Sweater Thrifted at Value Village
Journal Indigo bookstore (christmas gift)

59 comments:

  1. I love the idea of having a journal. I wrote in one for one summer when I was living with my grandparents and love looking back on it.
    Jordyn
    Pretty Lovely

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  2. I love this post so much Amy! I've been wondering whether to try journalling for a while now, but I think you might have just inspired me to start- thank you! <3

    Emma xo // Wallflower Wardrobe

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  3. Great winter outfit!

    www.bstylevoyage.blogspot.com

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  4. Stunning cardie and dress combo Amy!
    ♥♥♥
    Jeanne
    http://www.fashionmusingsdiary.com

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  5. I love your perspective Amy, you have a very refreshing & unique view :) I have always journalled on and off but have recently started a journal that I write, vision and add art to and I'm really enjoying the process! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  6. you look so boho chic
    xo
    www.laurajaneatelier.com

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  7. Gorgeous photos and I completely agree with your perspective. What a freeing activity it is!! Being unplugged is a beautiful thing. Thank you for the inspiration!

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  8. i completely agree (and there probably dozens of other great reasons to keep a journal)! i love starting the year with a new journal, it's one of the best gifts you can give a person for the holidays. nothing like cracking into a new book, smelling those fresh pages, white with possibility and stories to be told. here's to exploring it all this year!
    p.s. lovely journal you've got!

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  9. I kept a journal intermittently as a child, purely because I loved words, and language, and wanted to write it down. When I was sixteen or seventeen, I began writing regularly, and reflecting on what I had written, and it's a practice I continue today (I'm 33). I have gotten so much from this kind of writing - as you say, it's not for an audience, so I can put anything in those pages and know I will be free of judgment. I play with language there, try out poem and story ideas, write about the books I want to write. I write about my friendships and relationships, and perhaps most importantly, I process my feelings here, where I can make sense of them - even the act of writing them down stops the calamitous prattling of my monkey-mind and helps me to listen to what my heart wants to say. I always feel such a kinship when I come across other people who value journaling and diary-keeping as I do xxx

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  10. You are right, writing a journal has so many reason to do this. I've written since I remember. Your journal is magic, the tree is breath taking! You look stunning tho <3

    http://coeursdefoxes.blogspot.com/

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  11. This is such a beautiful post! I absolutely love looking back on things I've written; it's funny to see the change in yourself, and of course, the things that stay the same. It's been years since I've kept a journal - perhaps you've renewed this hobby for me! And lovely look as well; that cardigan looks so darn cozy and I'm absolutely gushing over your skirt.

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  12. Anonymous6.1.15

    Where do you recommend getting a journal? Are there any nice online stores? Yours is so pretty

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  13. I'm always wondering if I should start a journal, this is really helpful ♥
    Amy xx

    Perfect Imperfections

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  14. Diary is a good habit. I've often written diary. But now on the computer to write. By the way, you're beautiful.

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  15. Absolutely adore these photos, and keeping a journal is a wonderful thing to do if only to keep your mind tidy x

    heldtogetherbypins.blogspot.com

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  16. So well written, so full of depth,
    love your outfit, it is absolutely amazing, simply perfect and
    you look stunning :)

    http://dreamland1234.blogspot.com/

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  17. Love this post. Your photos are enticing. <3

    xx Nicole Rose

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  18. A good post expressing some really great thoughts. To stay trendy I like using A good post expressing some really great thoughts. To stay trendy I like using СЛОВО. Adds a lot to girl’s stylishness. . Adds a lot to girl’s stylishness.

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  19. I went back to university after Christmas and realised when unpacking that I forgotten to bring my journal. I nearly cried. Luckily I'm back home again for the weekend so I didn't have long without it but I realised then how it important it is to me. I just feel lost without it

    xo
    www.thisisfrancescarose.com

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