EXPLORING JOURNALING: STEP BY STEP

I had been journaling for a year before I joined the newspaper, and I didn't like the idea at first. I thought it wouldn't help, I wouldn't feel any better, but it did get better. Getting to write down everything I felt and wanted to say that I just couldn't. Before we talk about how many people at CCA journal, let's talk about all the benefits of journaling. Unplugging is a huge part of journaling. You can separate from the world and just think, and for kids who have a hard time staying on a schedule, this helps. Writing helps a LOT; it helped me too. It's also helpful for reflecting in many different ways. When you have done something you may not be happy about or don't feel good about doing, you can journal. You can grow so much from journaling; you can watch yourself become a better person! And that is a great feeling. There are a lot of different ways to journal. I’m going to list a bunch of them: travel journal, gratitude journal, dream journal, bulletin board journal, food journal, creative idea journal, art journal, nature journaling, fitness journal, free-writing journal, reflective journal, daily journal, project journal, and even reading is journaling. Anything you want to write about, you can! It’s such a great stress reliever.

BEGINNING A JOURNAL; GRAPHIC BY KAITLIN HUBER

I sent out a Google form asking if you journal, and I got quite a lot of responses. 61.1 percent of the people who filled out the Google form do, in fact, journal, and 30.6 percent do not. 47.2 percent say that journaling does help them, and 19.4 percent say it is useless to them. Everyone is different; sometimes, things that work for you don't work for others. Journalism is something that you don't just learn in school, and that's why I love it. Journaling doesn't take that much brainpower—you just have to have emotions. Journaling can do many things for you, such as unplugging, reflecting, and growing as a person. I hope this can give you the motivation.