Journaling is Actually Healing

Alright, so one of my new years resolution for the year 2025 was to start journaling. I can’t remember the exact thing that made me want to start doing this, but I know nostalgia played a huge part. Sometimes when I think of my childhood or especially those important development years like high school and middle school, I can remember the big events (or big to my teenage self), but I always wish I could remember my day to day life during those times. Like what was a normal, drama-free day like? And then it hit me. That this is the youngest I’m ever going to be from this day forward, and how cool would it be 20 or even 5 years from now if I’d be able to read my exact thoughts, or raw emotions, to certain situations and events that’ll happen from my mid 20’s and onward. And so I bought a cute little journal from Target, some nice ass gel pens, and got to work.

The crazy thing about life is that we literally cannot control it, and that things and people can be here today and gone tomorrow, our circumstances can change at the drop of a dime and take us by surprise, and how many things-when you really take a look at it, are out of our control. I started journaling January 2nd of 2025, documenting my holidays and how happy I was, my plans for the upcoming year, and how I was enjoying my winter break. From then on, I lost my soul dog 2 months later, 4 months later I found out my job was being defunded under the new administration and that I would be without work, I went to LA and Mexico for my 24th birthday, I spent 3 months on a long job search only for my previous job to come back, I applied to grad schools, I debated a huge move to another state and more. And the beautiful thing about it? I have a play by play of not only these big life-changing events, but also of the days where I was pissed off by something a coworker said, or when I was having trouble with my parent engagement KPI and finding out that one of my students who worked so hard wasn’t chosen for a scholarship we spent months applying to. Or when I got into a fight with my man over something you can’t pay me to remember what it was about (but my journal remembers), like listen it’s like I made my own gossip magazine, autobiography, non-fiction novel and more all in 1.

And of course the messy queen in me loves that I wrote down some pretty piping hot (at that time) cup of tea to look back on. Lmaooooooooo!

In all seriousness, I found that when I did journal after a long day, all of the stress kinda left itself on the page. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of writing. My hands have caught so many cramps, and that sometimes is going to be one of the biggest reasons that’ll make you procrastinate, but being able to look over my thoughts and my version of events at any time for the past year really gets me going. Moesha was on to something in that bed at the end of every episode!

And let’s not forget, there’s a reason I wrote: “Closed Mouths Do Get Fed” (posting soon!), you can’t be telling everyone your plans and feelings because you never know anyone’s ulterior motives, and sometimes I don’t feel right beating the same dead horse to my close friends or man. So writing it out usually helps me when I’m harping on a situation or trying to see through the end of a goal, and I don’t need the extra inputs or thoughts—because you know I have some pretty big goals, to where others might label them as unattainable, or crazy. But hey, that’s why you can’t tell everyone, everything.

After a year and a half, although I love writing about my day at the end of it I have been thinking of different things that I can also do. Something I’m going to try is adding some prompts every week. Things that’ll get me thinking and actually doing some inner work on myself. I also have been adding pictures and certain excerpts from that day or situation to make it sort of like a scrap book-y feel.

Examples include receipts, concert tickets, zoo brochures, name tags, work cards, business cards, and so much more! So the journal is getting pretty thickkkk. But I love it. And I’m so grateful that my 23 year old self finally but this into motion and I can’t wait for my 27 year old self, or my 30 or 50 year old self to look back at all of our work. Even my kids.

Journaling is something I want everyone around me to do. Like my boyfriend and my mom and sister, shid even my aunts and cousins and grandparents, mainly for selfish reasons (I.e. for me) but also for them. Do you think you’d be able to journal everyday? Or do you already??

See you next week!

Khyra C