The Benefits of Journaling
By Amanda Glass, Lifestyle Staff Writer
The beginning of a new semester is an exciting time, filled with a wide array of emotions. The most effective way to deal with these sometimes overwhelming feelings, whether they are positive or negative, is to write them down. Journaling is proven to be one of the healthiest ways to cope with emotions, especially when your class schedule is busy and leaves you with little time to speak to others about what you are feeling inside. Here are some reasons why you should grab a notebook and get writing.
For starters, when you are journaling, you are the only one who will ever see what is being written down. Your journal is for your eyes only, so there is really no holding back; you can talk poorly about that one person who ticked you off last week, use every curse word you never incorporate into your daily vocabulary or put your un-artistic abilities to use. There are no boundaries when it comes to journaling; it is a free-for-all in the best ways possible and will stay that way for as long as the practice is around. The normal world might be filled with judgment, so use your journal as a place for the opposite.
For introverts like myself, it is no easy task to talk about your deepest emotions and feelings to others. The easiest option and “escape route,” so-to-speak, is to keep everything cooped up inside until it starts to bubble, or explode, out of us. At this point, we seem to have reached our breaking point, where we feel as if we are about to burst. Journaling is a way to release these emotions from within without having to really interact with anyone, and get them out before they erupt. There is no face-to-face conversation involved in this form of release, but simply pen-to-paper.
So, what are you waiting for? Grab a pen, an old notebook and a quiet spot, and get writing. Don’t worry, there’s no five-paragraph essay or thesis statement involved; just your thoughts.