How I Journal

Hey guys!

I've kept a journal for about 3 years now. I like recording how my days go, and it's also helpful for remembering dates and events. I think I've finally developed a style I'm proud of, so I decided it was time to make a post talking about my process. If you keep a journal or want to start one, I hope you'll be inspired by some of the things I include. 
First, let me clarify that I don't bullet journal. The idea of trying to be that organized and artistic stresses me out, but I admire the people who do it. I would describe my style as a diary composed of bullet points about what was on my mind that day.

These are a few of the materials I use for my journal. The journal with stars on it is currently blank. I'm going to share part of my process for setting it up.
To make pages fun and colorful, I have a set of rainbow pens, as well as some stickers and even sticky notes occasionally. I want to get some washi tape to tape things onto the backs of pages, but I haven't been to a craft store in a while for obvious reasons.

On the inside of the cover, I write quotes and song lyrics that mean something to me. I strategically took this photo so you can't read the quotes (sorry). They're usually inspirational or describe how I feel, but I don't have any rules about what I write there.

This is the opening page for the journal that I just filled, although it still had a few pages left when I took this picture. I write in the date I started the journal and leave a space for the date that I filled it. I add a quote and some doodles and stickers to take up the rest of the page. I write "keep out" usually, because I'm an eight-year-old at heart.
Speaking of being eight: may I direct your attention to the mermaid sticker. It's from American Girl Magazine, and they had some of the cutest stickers ever. The sticker pages even have designs printed on them, so of course I cut those out to use, too.

This is what most pages look like. My handwriting is very messy, but maybe you can see the bullet points. I can fit 1-3 entries on a page, depending on length. I include things like moods, notable occurrences, dreams, songs I listened to on repeat, and sometimes random doodles of snakes, like in the entry above.

My thoughts don't always come out in bullet points, though. Sometimes ideas work better in poetry. My journal poetry is bad on average, but if it turns out well, I'll share it. I write heartfelt letters to friends (that I never give them because I'm too shy.) I add goals or to-do lists when there's something on my mind.

I love taping things onto the backs of pages. It gives the journal a scrapbook-y feel. (Side note, isn't that such an adorable Valentine?)

At the end of every journal, I make a page summarizing some noteworthy events. I don't have a photo of this page, because it's a bit too personal to publish. It's meant to be both a reference for those events and a reflection on how my life has been for the past few months.

The blank first page of my new journal!
(Now that I've admitted these were all outdoor photos, I should also tell you that it was raining, and I was sitting on the front porch in my pajamas with the door open. I had a tablecloth spread across the porch and the front hallway for a background. I must have looked crazy to the people who walked by, but I feel that part of being a good photographer is deciding not to care.)

I decided to have a green theme for my opening page. As you can see, this is my sixth journal, and I'm proud of that.

The (almost) finished opening page! (I added my name after I took the photo.) I'm super happy with how the flowers came out. The music note and pencil stickers are from AG magazine. I dread the day when I run out of their stickers.
This was a long post, but I hope you found it interesting. Here's to another six-ish months of writing down my life! Do you journal?