Notebooks, Notes, and some thoughts on Journaling
Notebooks, Notes, and Some Thoughts on Journaling.
Hello Blog,
As someone born in the digital age, I found comfort in pen and paper. I have a vivid memory dating back to when I was five years old; I would find my way into the scrapyard of my house in Delhi NCR and fetch some old paperwork once belonging to my parents. I would act like a teacher and proceed to correct them. I am a true Kayasth, a label I always love to be associated with and proud of. I am always with my pen and paper.
The art of journaling has been passed down to me by my late grandfather. I have access to some of his diaries but have never read them. I believe that his thoughts should be left alone, even though the weight of these thoughts now on paper is eternal. Quite honestly, I can't comprehend his writing—it is too cursive.
I have been journaling since I entered sixth grade. As of today, I have journaled through some seven diaries, and reading some of my old diaries has always been a treat for me. "Sudheshna Ma'am yelled/was upset at me" was a constant phrase present in at least seven entries for the year 2014. "Dear diary, I am sorry I couldn't write to you on the weekend because I was finishing my homework"—the fact that we personify our diaries, keep our interactions as human and simple as possible, and this very process of documentation leads to an individual's personal growth is too beautiful and sacred practice for me.
You can read more about how journaling has helped people cope with anxiety in a research article I found while surfing the net, here.
Have you come across those influencer videos where aesthetics are mainly the key focus? As a young teenager, I used to be tempted to have such notes and notebooks. "My notes are not aesthetic enough," a notion that would distract me from the main point of maintaining that notebook—study and revise. During the pandemic, I bought a crazy amount of stationery to maintain an aesthetic. Some of these aesthetic support materials wouldn't even work. What a waste of effort and money.
Documentation doesn't require a "fixed diary." There's a mobile application on my iPhone called "Journal." It's supported by Apple. I haven't used it as much, but a note from January says, "I wanted the fan to be switched off, and it turns out everyone agreed after I texted on the WhatsApp group." I think this app is very convenient for me to document things for this page, instead of just remembering things or waiting to get back home to write things down on a piece of paper. It has a simple interface and gives me prompts to fill in. Kawaii!
What bothers me is the need for more privacy that digital journaling can cause. One day you have your entire life on an application, and the next day your life is erased because of some technical issue or hacking. So far, I am staying optimistic about this experience.
Okay, let's do an experiment, shall we? Starting on the 21st of July, I used the journal app regularly, filling out the prompts and reflecting on the little things that make me happy.
Here are some core findings from my journey so far:
It revolutionizes the art of journaling. The fact that you can do voice recording, and add photos and videos while you record moments makes the journey very convenient.
It requires a Face ID to unlock, which is such a cute feature and secures all of my entries that I don't want people (whoever) to have access to my phone to go through. I wish Anne Frank (the greatest diary keeper) had a lock on her diary, too.
Prompts that could help me write better. The app provides relatable prompts so that I can journal more creatively. For example, A song that is your all-time favourite, etc.
I have maintained different diaries because of my variety of interests. My work diary contains a lot of key learnings that I am going to use to guide my family's future generation. There's a saying somewhere that "you learn a lot on your job," and yes, it is true. The fact that I am writing this post is because of a sad story. In 20 days from now, I will finally bid goodbye to my work diary. This diary has documented everything: my first job, feelings about my first job, key learnings on my first job, etc. It's been through many meetings, heartbreaks, and strategic planning processes. Sure, if a publisher finds me and shows me a billion-dollar ticket, I'll write a book about it.
But why should I encourage you to journal your thoughts? I really liked this quote from an article I read on Vox about journaling. Quoting psychologist Andrea Medaris, "...I think the most useful thing about journaling is that it helps create a narrative, a sense that life continues and it moves forward even in times of stuckness..." Wow!
I had a conversation with a fellow stationery collector a few weeks back, and she told me that she collects diaries but has no idea what to write in them. A writing block! I have been through so many of those myself. "I want to write a blog post, but I don't know what it will be about!" I remember telling her, "You can write down whatever you observe." A practice that I have followed so far and keeps bringing me to write more for you…
... Until next time.
Fin.
Huzzah!
Notebooks, Notes, and Some Thoughts on Journaling.
Hello Blog,
As someone born in the digital age, I found comfort in pen and paper. I have a vivid memory dating back to when I was five years old; I would find my way into the scrapyard of my house in Delhi NCR and fetch some old paperwork once belonging to my parents. I would act like a teacher and proceed to correct them. I am a true Kayasth, a label I always love to be associated with and proud of. I am always with my pen and paper.
The art of journaling has been passed down to me by my late grandfather. I have access to some of his diaries but have never read them. I believe that his thoughts should be left alone, even though the weight of these thoughts now on paper is eternal. Quite honestly, I can't comprehend his writing—it is too cursive.
I have been journaling since I entered sixth grade. As of today, I have journaled through some seven diaries, and reading some of my old diaries has always been a treat for me. "Sudheshna Ma'am yelled/was upset at me" was a constant phrase present in at least seven entries for the year 2014. "Dear diary, I am sorry I couldn't write to you on the weekend because I was finishing my homework"—the fact that we personify our diaries, keep our interactions as human and simple as possible, and this very process of documentation leads to an individual's personal growth is too beautiful and sacred practice for me.
You can read more about how journaling has helped people cope with anxiety in a research article I found while surfing the net, here.
Have you come across those influencer videos where aesthetics are mainly the key focus? As a young teenager, I used to be tempted to have such notes and notebooks. "My notes are not aesthetic enough," a notion that would distract me from the main point of maintaining that notebook—study and revise. During the pandemic, I bought a crazy amount of stationery to maintain an aesthetic. Some of these aesthetic support materials wouldn't even work. What a waste of effort and money.
Documentation doesn't require a "fixed diary." There's a mobile application on my iPhone called "Journal." It's supported by Apple. I haven't used it as much, but a note from January says, "I wanted the fan to be switched off, and it turns out everyone agreed after I texted on the WhatsApp group." I think this app is very convenient for me to document things for this page, instead of just remembering things or waiting to get back home to write things down on a piece of paper. It has a simple interface and gives me prompts to fill in. Kawaii!
What bothers me is the need for more privacy that digital journaling can cause. One day you have your entire life on an application, and the next day your life is erased because of some technical issue or hacking. So far, I am staying optimistic about this experience.
Okay, let's do an experiment, shall we? Starting on the 21st of July, I used the journal app regularly, filling out the prompts and reflecting on the little things that make me happy.
Here are some core findings from my journey so far:
It revolutionizes the art of journaling. The fact that you can do voice recording, and add photos and videos while you record moments makes the journey very convenient.
It requires a Face ID to unlock, which is such a cute feature and secures all of my entries that I don't want people (whoever) to have access to my phone to go through. I wish Anne Frank (the greatest diary keeper) had a lock on her diary, too.
Prompts that could help me write better. The app provides relatable prompts so that I can journal more creatively. For example, A song that is your all-time favourite, etc.
I have maintained different diaries because of my variety of interests. My work diary contains a lot of key learnings that I am going to use to guide my family's future generation. There's a saying somewhere that "you learn a lot on your job," and yes, it is true. The fact that I am writing this post is because of a sad story. In 20 days from now, I will finally bid goodbye to my work diary. This diary has documented everything: my first job, feelings about my first job, key learnings on my first job, etc. It's been through many meetings, heartbreaks, and strategic planning processes. Sure, if a publisher finds me and shows me a billion-dollar ticket, I'll write a book about it.
But why should I encourage you to journal your thoughts? I really liked this quote from an article I read on Vox about journaling. Quoting psychologist Andrea Medaris, "...I think the most useful thing about journaling is that it helps create a narrative, a sense that life continues and it moves forward even in times of stuckness..." Wow!
I had a conversation with a fellow stationery collector a few weeks back, and she told me that she collects diaries but has no idea what to write in them. A writing block! I have been through so many of those myself. "I want to write a blog post, but I don't know what it will be about!" I remember telling her, "You can write down whatever you observe." A practice that I have followed so far and keeps bringing me to write more for you…
... Until next time.
Fin.
Huzzah!
