To be honest, there’s no rule on how you will start your journal but its most important element: You, a notebook and a pen. Nothing else. Starting a journal is really on us, the journalist or the diarist. Just grab the pen and start to write on your notebook.
Way back when I was young, I only know one type of journal which was my Diary. I even named my diary, “Mr. Bear”. It is my first ever notebook with a lock that has picture of a white bear on the cover.
I enjoyed writing my dailies about my day, my friends and my crush. Actually when I read my entries again, I laughed how silly my childhood memories. I am also a fan of a book, “The Diary of a Young Girl” or commonly referred to as “The Diary of Anne Frank”. A German Jewish girl who wrote a diary about her experiences during the World War I while hiding for 2 years with her family during the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands. Although the life of Anne Frank has a tragic ending, it inspires me to write a diary to document my life and read it when I get old.
Do you feel intimidated to start a journal?
Why feel intimidated? It is your notebook.
Are you feeling insecure because your handwriting is bad? So what? I don’t have a beautiful penmanship too!
Do you wish that you have an expensive notebook to write on? No need for an expensive notebook. Just an ordinary lined notebook will work. If you want a branded notebook, save money for one.
Do you want to experience writing with a fountain pen? Fountain pens are expensive. Inks are expensive too! Go with our good ol’ friend, ballpens.
What are the types of journaling that I do?
Fast forward, a few years ago, I learned that there are already different types how to journal. Here are some what I do.
Travel Journaling
Travel journaling is documenting your travels. You can collect Ephimeras like tickets, coffee shop tissue papers, road maps, small stuff from your travels, and taking pictures and print them out in photo stickers. Document the places you’ve been to and what did you do in those places.
Creative Journaling
It’s like a daily journal but you decorate your writings. Use stickers, notepad, sticky notes, washi tapes, and stamps. Layout doesn’t matter as long as you are happy with it.
Happy Mail Journaling
Do you love purchasing from your favorite shop? Do you love collecting thank you cards from your favorite online shop? Does the shop provide freebies like stickers and others? Use them to write an entry for a day.
Vintage Collage / Scrapbooking type of Journaling
Using papers, tapes, stickers with old style theme. Layering them to create a scrapbooking type of journaling. The wordings from your stickers and tapes can express the theme of your entry.
There are still many types of journaling. You can do doodle journaling, bullet journaling and many others. Again, you don’t need to spend money for journaling. Just a pen, a notebook and yourself is already good enough.