the goal of journaling?
I believe that my blog is just one part of my journaling arsenal, so to speak. I have a sketchbook, a pocket notebook, my notes app, and of course, bear blog.
Why do I find myself endlessly trying to document my life in so many ways?
When I'm on the train (as I am on right now), in the park, virtually anywhere, I find myself sketching my surroundings. I picked up the habit back in COVID, when I would sketch my room in various different states. Messy, clean, rearranged. All documented in different books sitting on shelves, in the very room they captured. I time stamped them with location, date and time.
As I continued this habit, I progressed to writing alongside the sketches. This could be anything from events in my day, songs I listened to while sketching, or even deeper feelings I was processing. Eventually, these notes took more space than the actual sketches themselves, so I decided enough was enough. I bought a Tibetan paper notebook for 10 bucks in a little shop from a very nice man, and started filling that to the hilt (I have since lost that notebook, which still pains me greatly to think about).
Once I lost that notebook, I bought a new, even smaller notebook that slipped right into my pocket. I would write ideas as they popped in my head in there, usually future blog posts or lists of books that I found while shelving in the library. In this time, I also found bear blog and started writing on here thanks to Veronique.
I believe I've been so inclined to documenting my life for a few reasons:
- I'm a ridiculously forgetful person, and have always struggled to recall things when asked, let alone for myself. This way, if I'm ever trying to build upon an idea of mine or even just want to reminisce, I have previous thoughts and versions of myself lined up ready to peruse.
- It gives me a sense of importance. If I have nothing else, I at least have a historical log of who I was at (almost) every stage in life, and infinite self-created material to refer back to and build on.
- In terms of the blog, it allows me a chance to connect with people and inspire (and be inspired!) in ways that I absolutely wouldn't be able to otherwise. One of my greatest friends I've had I met online, and although we're not close anymore, I wouldn't be the same person I am today had I not met them. Thank you, internet!
In some ways I wish I could expand even further in these documentative habits of mine, but where could I grow it further? I fear if I try to grow this habit past the hobby stage into something more, it could edge into influencer style territory which is the absolute LAST thing I would want for me and my work. That's a wonderful thing about this site, that there's still that unmistakeable feeling of humanity and not product behind these pages. Besides that, maybe I'm at the sweet spot where it's not compartmentalization yet, simply documenting.
I'm curious to hear other people's styles of journaling/documenting their lives, be it writing, photography, drawing, or otherwise. The capturing of the self is something I'm very interested in and would like to learn more about!