Journalling 101:  A Ramble to one’s Own Self

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” William Wordsworth

Most of our journeys to journalling started in those complementary diaries we got from several banks and many other institutions during the New Year’s. With their big logos, themes, and inspirational quotes. And, the ones where our writings rarely synced with the dates and months mentioned.

The rare, aesthetic journals were bought from stationary shops were expensive and burned a hole in our pocket money. I think they were worth it, as I still have kept some, from as far back as when I was 12. I am talking those Pink or blue themed diaries with princesses, teddy bears, flowers. Medium, Micro, Mini. And, also sometimes an actual lock and key.

‘Dear Diary’ Montage

Influenced by the ‘Dear Diary’ montage in our favorite movies and TV shows. The monologue, the narration was equally done by adults and children popular contemporary shows. Which inspired us, none the less to write on events that occurred that day. Writing philosophically or figuratively about our days, or just in simple basic words.

Some famous examples of movies that come to mind are-

The Princess Diaries (2001) – Mia Thermopolis writes about her feelings in her diary, which portrays her journey from an invisible girl to the Princess.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) – The film is Greg’s illustrated diary, with animated doodles and narration bringing his entries to life.

Sex and the City (1998–2004) – Carrie Bradshaw’s narration is basically a diary-turned-column, with montages of love and life in NYC.

Udaan (2010) – Rohan’s poems and writings are diary-like entries, narrated over montages of his struggles with .

Such scenes expose inner feelings. They also cover growth or despair of the characters, as we get through days, weeks, or even seasons. Such montages build intimacy with the audience, as they become the confidante. We are seeing the character as whole.

I personally haven’t known anybody who journalled everyday per se. It used to be a thing in tales and fiction we consumed. Though good quality pen and paper was still mostly a luxury in the decade I was born. I still think this practice, was a decent hobby or routine among a certain class of people, and the well-educated pals as well.

As I grew up, I feel like Journalling and diary writing mostly started to vanish. Especially due to the advent of Television.

Journalling as a Kid

I started with something unique that is my Name!, Class, Section, even my Roll no., my aim, my Parents name, and list goes on. What followed was mix on diary entries, grammar practice, writings on festive days, song lyrics, sketches, sticker, pasted paper cuttings, and of course the dreaded, “Time Table”.

I used to write twice or thrice a month about how my days went as a kid. But even to describe is an art, only some of us were blessed with at the age of 12. My diary entries at that age were filled with How it was Raksha Bandhan, or Ravidas Jayanti of a famous person, and the school was off.

Then it was me writing about my best friend, my brother totally mentioning the clashes, the competition. I wrote about my Mother. There was also the artistic me, doing the Junk Journalling I knew. Pasting a lot of pretty stickers, drawing mandala art with coloured sketch pens, mehndi arts, cookbook recipes. Paper cutouts of Articles that amused me, like Space, child actors, cartoon snippets. I also pasted School picture day photos. And In fact I even found a letter to my future self, poorly written.

Journalling as a Teenager

As a teenager, my journalling was more Love Struck. I used to paste pictures of my favourite actor. I also wrote about my first incitement of feelings towards someone, right after puberty hit. And how was it like, when a face clicked differently, out of several others I had passed through in my life. And how it stayed that way for a while.

 Some entries were also about how imperfect and lesser I felt. About how if only I was more prettier, cooler, smarter, everything would turn out perfect. Both at school and in my love life. As this was the time where everything important is supposed to begin in my life and, perfection should settle down in my Grades, my Actions, my looks.

I tore those pages later as I was too embarrassed. And, I also felt bad for my younger self, as some pages were filled with anger and self hatred. Others were really dumb love struck memoirs.

I also wrote about some conversations and events with friends. My favorite friend, my love-hate friend, my jealous friend, my coaching friends.

Besides that, I used to have this petite scarp book, which was passed around quite a lot and stored information about diverse people. My classmates, friends, cousins, school teachers. I still have it. The contact information must be all invalid though. But their aspirations, their thoughtful, that phase in their lives was perfectly captured.

Journal Journeys

When I asked my friends about their journalling stories as a kid or teenager. Some friends told me how they had a personal diary hidden from everyone. It was fun to decorate, write and keep hidden from the world. There were also some who told me about how they got in trouble once their mums read it. Or how much of a task it was to set those boundaries amongst family and siblings.

But, the bottom line is that everybody had that thing. That one thing, whether it be Art, craft, poems, feelings, equations, ideas, time tables, future plans, daily entries. All of which they’d like to their personal diary of creativity, secret and adoration.

My mother had one of those from before she was married. She let me take a glimpse of it, when I was younger. I vividly remember seeing poems, and recipes, and some letters kept in them. Those letters were sent from her family members after her wedding.

Similarly, I remember my Grandpa always carried around a diary as well. Many heads of families, especially used diaries to keep track of everyday expenses. My grandfather used to note down every little expense for as less as 1 rupee, in his diary. So that was mostly how diaries were used in small towns and villages.

The Purpose of Journaling

It wasn’t until I was in my 20’s, that I did some real journalling. Trying to make sense of my feelings, my relationship with people, my journey in life. It brought more calm and stability into my days. It let me make sense of this mess of a life.

Writing a blog, as I am today, was never the plan. But, honestly where it all started were those journal scribbles. Certain thoughts I wrote, certain opinions I had, felt like they could resonate with others. Journaling is very introspective.

Explore Feelings and Emotions: Journaling provides a safe space to explore a range of emotions. It is also great memory keeping. Writing about a happy or challenging day, an interesting encounter, a thoughtful conversation, an argument. Or even the day you question yourself, your feelings and the world around you. Paper is the real companion.

Tracking Mood and Triggers: Journalling overtime helps one identify patterns and figure out the situations that trigger negative emotions. Henceforth, individuals can develop coping mechanisms and strategies to manage difficult situations more effectively.

Growth as an Individual: Entries as basic as highlights of your day, epitome of your emotions. Your sleep cycle, your eating habits, can overtime lead to you learning more about yourself, your behavior patterns, and trying to push yourself little by little to be the person you want to be in these situations, conversations, relationships, and in fact in your everyday routine.

Social Media and Journaling

My 20’s was also the time when I noticed most people around me, completely abandoned Journalling. This era of Digitization, and the advent of Social media was a big contributor towards that.

Just like love letters vanished, greeting cards vanished, scrap books vanished. Journalling did too, in a wider sense in our communities. Why bother the pen, when you could just post it. And invite appreciation or scrutiny likewise.

A lot of us must wonder, what really is the essence, the purpose of journalling in today’s digital world. Where every thought is commuted through social media. All discussions, arguments, life stories and experiences shared in the posts. Or it’s the comments. There are also a lot of online communities with active verbal and written discussions for all niches.

All the questions today, opinions, everyday activities, events, thoughts are posted out there on Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, Quora, Yahoo, and You-tube vlogging of course. For the world to engage with.

Amongst all of this, has journalling really lost it’s purpose. The answer is ‘No’. It is not going anywhere. In fact it has made a comeback filled with ‘Aura’.

Tumblr

Remember the viral Tumblr, Reddit, and Pinterest posts of the early 2010’s aestheticizing journaling, poetry, art. A slightly blurry Polaroid photo of a desk with a Moleskine notebook, fountain pen, and maybe a cup of tea. The self-deprecating humor about messy handwriting or obsessimg about things.

Meanwhile for Pinterest, the aesthetic journalling moments were meant to be pinned to “Inspiration Boards”. The calligraphy, stickers, or hand-drawn doodles. Clean white desks, pretty pens, and perfectly centered Journals with lots of beige, blush pink, and soft gold.

Lifestyle Influencers

With the rise of lifestyles influencers on Youtube and Instagram around the vlogs like, Day in my Life, Morning Routine, etc. popularized journaling a lot. Lifestyle influencers have had a good impact, and created a whole new market for the hobby.

Aesthetics– They made journaling tempting with all those journals, pens, and beige backgrounds with the perfect morning light.

Wellness–  They positioned journaling as self-care activity. Putting it at the center of creating the organized, healthy, and growth oriented lifestyle for yourself.

Digital Diaries

There is also this convenience of digital diaries in the present day that you can document on whenever, wherever. A very efficient way to journal for feelings and thoughts, anytime the inspiration strikes. Used my many, including yours truly

The organization and searchability is top notch. The Tags, and categories help you sort entries by mood, theme, or project. And, date-stamping keeps a clear timeline of your thoughts and growth. The option for addition of a variety of multimedia as photos, audio clips, videos, links, etc. make it very convenient to document and journal.

There is privacy and it is a very eco friendly and cost affective way of journalling.

The commercialization of Journalling  

So, Journalling did come back to trend again, online. Making a full circle. But, there is other dimensions to it. And, even certain allegations on these trends. Like how Journalling used to be a solitary ritual. But, now it has become performative. Something to style, photograph and share, in a never ending competition of aesthetic mining for uploads.

The sudden influx in the market of premium Journalling products. Notebooks, stationery as brush pens, washi tapes, stickers, stamps, stencils. And, Guided journals specifically catering to gratitude journaling, or self-care, manifestation.

Influencer-driven Marketing

Lifestyle influencers are blamed for posting just to gain momentum. On promoting the aspirational lifestyle, morning routine, or self care routine. And, affiliate linking the products below. Seasonal and Trend-Based Selling for a journalling hobby just like fashion products is extremely consumerist and wasteful. Like the themed sticker packs, limited edition planners, or mood-board kits. Trends like Junk Journalling or Collage Journalling, meanwhile create new and excessive product demands.

While these popular trends do make Journalling attractive, and expands creative options to a wider audience. It does risk turning a low-cost accessible hobby into aesthetic manhunt.

How do I start journaling?

My piece of advice is, ‘Just start’. Don’t overthink.

• Grab a notebook and write down anything that comes to your mind. Structures, Bullets, categories are stuff to be relied on later.
• Don’t be overly focused on grammar, paragraph layouts, handwriting or even making sense at all. The point is just to express yourself. All your ongoing inner intricacies at that very moment, day, timeline, phase in your life.
• It is good to start with putting away 5-10 minutes each day, towards writing.
• Now, I’m not a big fan of Prompts. But, I’d suggest to use prompts if you’re really stuck. I discuss more on it in my next post.

One of the most common question is “What should I write about?“

• I’d recommend writing about your day—what happened, what you felt, and any highlights or challenges.
• Reflect on ideas of personal growth.
• Write about your outings, dates, friends, relationships.
• You can Journal about something that you’ve really been into lately.
• At last I’d say, just let your thoughts flow freely. No topic is too small or mundane to write about.

Now, there are a 1000 different types of Journals, ways to Journal, and popular Journalling trends in the sphere. Which one you should follow up with and stick to, for the aspired results. How to find out what really resonates with your personality, and defines your niche. And, many more similar enquiries I’m going to discuss in my next blog.