Journey to Journaling

by Beth Alexander Walsh

I wasn’t much of a journal or diary person when I was younger. My writing as a child consisted mostly of poetry and stories. I think I steered clear of journaling mostly out of fear that someone else would read my thoughts. What would my mother think after stumbling upon my secrets? Would my older brother relentlessly tease me about my musings or even worse share with his friends? My fear of course was unwarranted. My thoughts as a child were innocent, and I wish I had put them to paper as evidence of my perspective back then. My teenage years were full of rebellion and mistakes and my mother would have been apoplectic had she been able to read all about the shenanigans I pulled with my friends. Still I wish I had written about that time in my life and the feeling of fearless invincibility one day to be followed by unrelenting doubt the next. Later as an adult I would journal in fits and starts, never really committing to the process, mimicking unfulfilled New Year’s resolutions. I even purchased a five- year journal where I had to complete one line per day only to have weeks (and sometimes months) of blank pages. Any notebook I had after that was filled with random thoughts and ideas.

Last year I stumbled upon Bullet Journals on the internet and purchased my first book. I bought the necessary pens, stickers and stencils to make it fun and appeal to both the writer and crafter in me. I have been active in journaling ever since and have started my second book in the new year. My bullet journal is a combination daily calendar and task manager. Every month starts with a page that contains something positive done and something to be grateful for each day. I have a page keeping track of all the books and authors I have read with a reading goal of thirty books for 2019. I have pages with dream destinations, restaurants to try, goals for the year and 30-minute jobs around the house that I can proudly cross off when completed. There are lists for holiday parties, gifts and vacations that I can refer back to. My day to day calendar consists mostly of to do lists, but also becomes the place where I paste concert tickets, stickers and post cards of places I have been. I, of course, have a large section that I use for writing ideas and another for our Winter Street Writers group. At the end of every month, I take a moment to reflect on those pages to be grateful for all the positive things that have happened and maybe learn from the not so positive. Preparing my journal for the next month opens up new possibilities. What will be written in all those blank spaces? In essence my bullet journal has become the book of Beth; a place that is only for and about me. It has been a great tool for accomplishment but more importantly a chance at self-reflection.