Edited by Kavya Mittal
Every new year’s eve, a family friend would gift my father a diary. He’d then bring it to me the next day, and say “So, will this finally make you maintain a journal?”
And it did. At least, for a while. But it wasn’t because my father wanted me to maintain a journal, nor was it a ‘vent’ journal to release my anger in the form of writing. Every day I would come back home from school and religiously sit in a corner in my room, take out my diary from a ‘private’ box, and write about school. One might wonder, was my school life that happening, for me to have stuff to write about every day? Honestly, no, not really. But, I was in love with one of the junior teachers’ in school, and I wanted to remember every detail about her, so I wrote about her.
I’d think to myself, what good would writing about the ‘love of my life’ bring to me? But, today, I can proudly say that it taught me many things.
Back in school, the first thing I usually did when I woke up was to reach for my phone. And without realising, in those few seconds, I was detached from reality, and immersed into the online world of scrolling. But there were days when I used to wake up after dreaming of my teacher. I used to run to my desk and write down the dream in my journal.
In a way, journaling enabled me to discover my creative side. The more time I spent with my notebook, the more creative thoughts would find their way into the lines of my journal. So, journaling gives you an outlet to let your thoughts flow, and explore your expression in a dialogue.
Journaling motivated me to make the best of my day. I’d run around, hiding from my subject teachers, so they wouldn’t catch me bunking my classes, and finding ways to keep myself entertained so that at the end of the day, I would have memories to write.
I’d spend hours devising new plans and plotting routes to impress my teacher. I’d write down my ideas in my journal, structuring them to achieve maximum feasibility. Every time I’d open my journal, reading through these ideas accelerated my ability to drive my actions towards achieving my goals.
Journaling is proof of progress. On days I thought I was headed nowhere, chasing after the impossible, I’d turn to my journal for comfort. Reading through the old pages would remind me of the progress I achieved. On a bad day, one might forget about their growth over the months, and that is where your journal comes in. It gives one the perspective and sign that they’ve grown and matured.
Journaling my experiences taught me lessons I wasn’t sure I needed to learn. The “matured because of trauma” kid in me goes through these pages and sees the past in a different way now. And this helps me reflect on what I did and how the consequences changed me. It encourages me to go down different paths than the ones I’ve taken before.
But as good as it sounds, I couldn’t stick to journaling. Making a habit out of journaling, despite its benefits, is challenging. And I failed. I knew it was helpful, but I couldn’t prioritise it over the overwhelming pressure of having to do well in academics.
Now I know that it can be easier.
Journaling doesn’t have to feel like it’s another thing on your to-do list. It doesn’t have to feel like an obligation, only for you to stop after a while. There is no ‘this is how you should maintain your journal’ guide. But what you can do is write whenever you have the time and space. It’s easier with a piece of paper and a few words. That’s all that it takes. To begin with, try one sentence per day, for a month. It will make you feel empowered when you succeed, and if you aren’t able to keep up, you can always try again.
Journal starter ideas:
Everything is easier with prompts. So here are a few prompts you could use, as your journal starter:
-
How was your day?
-
How do you feel today?
-
Plan for the day?
-
Something new/odd happened?
-
Your dreams?
-
What are you grateful for?
-
Did you sleep/eat well?
-
About somebody you interacted with?
-
Something you look forward to trying/working with?
-
Music lyrics that can define your day?
When you make something your habit, it stays with you because it’s engaging and fun. As we grow older, and life gets busier, we need that one thing- the one habit we don’t mind spending some time on. So, one sentence is easy, isn’t it?
Ask me after a month.