Joan Didion once wrote that the point of her keeping a notebook was simply to “remember what it was to be [herself]” in a certain time and place of her life (“On Keeping a Notebook”). I find this idea to be one of the great values of journaling. I started consistently keeping a journal in the spring of my sophomore year, and I have continued since then. While certain moments of the past two and a half years have been intricately documented — special moments of my time at Vanderbilt that I want to remember — a vast majority of my entries simply record my thoughts and feelings on a certain day. It may seem like an unusual way to keep a journal, which is often thought of as a log of one’s daily life for organizational purposes, but I have found a multitude of hidden values in this more abstract approach.
Journaling can come in many different forms. You can take the traditional approach and write in a notebook, you can type on a Word document or you can even take a video or voice recording of yourself speaking. Your journaling can be an organized tool of daily record-keeping or a random contemplation of your thoughts that come straight from inside, meandering as much or as little as your own mind. It could help you keep track of your life, more fully develop your thoughts or even stand as a present for your future self to look back on in a few years. Keeping a journal means something different to each person who practices the discipline, and that is part of its beauty. Just as the contents of your journal will be highly individualized, so too will your intentions in its creation.
The one thing that transcends all of these different forms and intentions and becomes important to the practice is consistency — I have not always been a loyal practitioner of this advice. During my semester abroad, I wanted to journal every minute detail of what I knew would be a very special period of my life. After each trip I took, I would spend what felt like an entire day recounting everything that I could remember. While I enjoyed these moments of reflection and treasure my abroad journal, it became challenging to find the time or energy to keep writing in such depth and detail. Journaling became a huge undertaking in my mind, and I started to write less and less. I had no routine, and I struggled to maintain interest.
This year, instead of writing 5 to 10 pages of everything I did since my last entry in extreme detail, I take a few minutes before bed to write one to two pages about my day and my overall reflections as it comes to an end. It is far simpler and less grandiose than my abroad journal, but it feels more authentic to me and my thoughts because I focus less on events and more on ideas. As a bonus, it is also easier and not burdensome. In fact, it is something I have come to look forward to at each day’s conclusion. Plus, it is just as valid a representation of my life in college as it would be if I shared every detail of myself. Whether you prefer to journal about events, ideas or something else entirely, journaling often will help you realize what you want out of the practice and will help you find consistent enjoyment in it.
As graduation nears and I look back on my four years at Vanderbilt, I am thankful for the two-and-a-half years worth of journal entries that I have. I only wish I had started earlier. If you have any interest in journaling, do not be afraid to give it a try; I can promise you it is worth it. Just remember to be patient with yourself as you find a manner and method that works for you.
