Journals. I have a lot of them. Ones that are full of thoughts, drawings, and newspaper clippings. Others full of list after list followed by many blank pages. I currently am halfway through filling two separate notebooks with daily thoughts and musings, things I don't share on the blog, and things I will in the future.
I always loved writing. Since I was little and decided to start penning a novel using an old sketchbook of my mother's. I love putting thoughts and ideas on paper and seeing plots and blog posts unfold before me. My first journal was a little diary, covered in hearts that had a lock and key. Later journals were lined books, sketchbooks, and moleskines.
My journals are where I process and think in space "out loud" without ever having to speak a word. When I journal, I have to slow down and think about what I am going to write next, because I cannot write as fast as I think. It's different when typing - where my fingers fly across the keyboard as my thoughts form and take shape. In my journals I write poetry, lists, short stories, and sometimes I just doodle, giving my hands something to do when I am fidgety.
Currently, I am using my journal as a place to process various thoughts about the wedding. It's where I keep my to-do lists and ideas for blog posts (some of which don't come to fruition). My last journal entry was about the inauguration, which I was lucky enough to get to watch yesterday. My next one will more than likely be a grocery list, but it's a snapshot of my time right now.
I use my journals to seize my moment. To grow as a writer and as a person, and to think out loud. I do not know what I would do without writing, and most of all, without my little blank books.
Do you keep a journal or notebook?
