Journal writing is a voyage to the interior…

Journal writing is a tool arising out of introspection. The journal illuminates the self

Christina Baldwin, One to One [M. Evans & Co., 1991]

Words from a Diarist…

It started about thirty years ago when I got my first little white, vinyl-covered diary with a silver lock and key at the age of seven. I began writing in my journal, and I never stopped. But that’s just part of it -- my writings, my journals, became a part of me.

I began a process that I never stopped. Not only have I been afforded a lens peering at my life through my journals, I have taken on a more experiential approach to the journaling act itself. I have, in a sense, used them as a valuable life tool.

The tool continues to evolve, from a personal sounding board to a creativity enhancing tool, to a biographical tool, etc, wherein I use my journal for personal discovery, self-help, creative writing, recording my family’s history, capturing my own story, and in the case of my literary projects, capturing the stories of others. 

My take on it…

~The journal is our way of achieving synthesis in our lives

by allowing us to take an objective look at our subjective musings

~It’s an ongoing conversation with the events of our lives,

seeking meaning and understanding

~Even periodic journal writing can serve as an examination of the intersections between the boundaries of our inner selves and the world around us

~A journal writer’s voice is one of self-discovery

~Journal writing is an experiential journey to the Self