Journals simply consist of pieces of paper placed together, yet hold so much power within them. That power comes from the expressive thoughts placed onto each piece of paper by oneself.Â
To journal is to benefit your physical, mental, and emotional health. If you’ve ever had the slightest interest in wanting to journal, here are four reasons why you should definitely start.
- To Relieve Stress
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As students, we’ve all dealt with our own levels of stress. It isn’t something we can avoid, but it can be managed. Journaling is one activity that can help relieve stress. It provides your mind with a coping mechanism that’ll allow you to feel more at ease. By writing out your day through either checklists or feelings, a journal is always there to calm your mind and help you deal with your own individual struggles.
- To Harness Creativity
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Journaling is a form of art. It allows your thoughts and actions to be expressed on paper in a setup of your choosing. Journals allow you to be as elaborate or minimalistic as you so desire. Bullet journaling is a popular form of creativity where you can create a journal from scratch using your own ideas. People often use journals to sketch and paint as well. No matter what you choose to use a journal for, know there is no right or wrong way to express every detail freely on each spread.
- To Achieve Goals
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Journals encourage an enhanced sense of motivation. Every word that goes into a journal can make you feel accomplished and successful. It’s such an exciting way to keep track of all your thoughts and ideas that may start out as dreams but end up becoming reality. Journals allow your goals to come true because they give you a sense of confidence that there’s nothing standing in your way once a task is written on paper.
- To Capture Memories
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All in all, journals are a great way to make memories. Once you write something inside your journal, it cannot go away (unless you end up burning it, which, if that’s your thing, is possible because there are journals designed to burn at the end). Even so, you have the mental pictures in your brain of every emotion and feeling expressed when using a journal. Journals are a form of serenity. They give you an opportunity to seize the moment and make every day count.
As college students, it’s extremely important to find ways to put ourselves first before our schoolwork, no matter how impossible it may seem. No matter what you do to better yourself, and whether you choose to journal or not, know that any and every form of self-expression matters. And if you’ve ever felt the slightest inclination to start your journaling journey, just pick up a piece of paper and start writing. I promise that you won’t regret it.