I was gifted my first journal when I was 10 years old. It was a gift from a cousin and I was hooked from then on. I do not remember what I wrote in it. But just thinking about how I was back then, I am pretty sure that some entries included some kind of unrequited crush on this boy named Joseph.

I cannot take a photo of my previous journals from back then. I cannot reread them just for shits and giggles. Why? Some people decided that I was not allowed to have them. A couple of people decided to invade my privacy and read them. And a college ex-boyfriend decided I should not keep one or let him read all of them since according to him I should not be hiding anything. (This was also the dude who wanted all my passwords because he seemed to think that I really should not have privacy whatsoever.)

Anyway, I burned all of them. All my journals from when I was 10 years old up to 16 years old. I do not have a record of them anywhere now. Never thought to scan them before disposing of them. Why? Fear. I do not want anyone to get a hold of the saved files. Again, privacy apparently was not a thing.

I picked up journaling again when I moved here in the US. And I’ve been keeping up with it since. Well, not religiously. Sporadically all through these years. Some are kept in a closet in the apartment, and some are displayed on a bookshelf. I have gone through different types of paper, different types of notebooks.

What is journaling to me and what do I get out of it? Journaling to me for the most part is a brain dump tool. Everything and anything that is in my head for the most part gets transferred on paper. Feelings. Insecurities. Memories – happy or not. I write them down. It’s a scrapbook of sorts. Pictures. Tickets. Collages. It could also contain my feelings regarding a book that I am reading. Everything is in one notebook. Sure, my journal may not have the organization that most people who journal have, who have different journals for different purposes. But I find that having only one journal for everything reflects who I am. Organized in a way but chaotic at times.

Have I reread my journals? Yes, I have. Because honestly, it was fun reading what my concerns were back when I was in my early 20s. I enjoy reading how a certain song made me feel. I like reading about past relationships and how they made me feel. It showed me trends in I how dealt with things and my behavior. I loved seeing the memories on a page or more. I enjoyed looking at some dried lilies that were pressed in between the pages and reading what they were associated with. The journals showed me how much I changed and not at the same time.

What is my current journaling setup now? I mean, I know I said I tend to just use one notebook for everything. That changed a month or so ago. I also journal in the morning and throughout the day now instead of waiting until the end of the day. What tools do I use now? I have a couple that I use. One is a Freewrite Traveler device and another is a Traveler’s Notebook.

Astohaus Freewrite Traveler. I mainly use this for my morning pages. I know people said to use paper and pen for this habit but honestly, this device works great for me. It’s a device that makes me write without distractions – no emails, no internet, no browsers. Just turn it on and type away. My morning journal is strictly a brain dump journal. I type whatever in there. Without rhyme or reason. I just type whatever noise I have in my head. Much like, emptying a bag so you can fit more kind of thing. And no, I don’t reread this. It’s really just a type and go kind of thing. No looking back. For the most part, whatever gets inputted here in the morning are noises in my head.

Traveler’s Notebook. This one I use for all the other stuff. Memory keeping. Feelings. And all that. A bit reflective entries. And I journal throughout the day. I find that I like being able to write whenever I am feeling something at a certain time of the day. May it be as trivial as the heat. May it be something that is more substantial like feeling some anxiety over something. Or just talking about a TV show that I just watched. This is where I use ephemera and stickers and maybe some pictures. This is the journal that I would be reading maybe in a couple of months just for amusement purposes.

Do I ever repeat what I put in my morning pages to my regular journal? Not so much. However, if there is a noise that I dumped on my freewrite that needs more thought, then yeah. Mainly ideas that needed fleshing out. Seeing if those ideas are feasible to do at all or not. Weighing the pros and the cons of making the said idea into a concrete project. There are a couple of ideas that I am trying to flesh out right now. Figuring out the logistics and all that.

Honestly, I just love how therapeutic journaling has been for me. And for someone who is always in her head, writing those thoughts down has been a great help. Especially recently. It has made my mood a lot better. I feel lighter.