The Journaling Girls may be Onto Something
Written By : Grace Weidenhamer
We’re nearing a very reflective time of the year.
Did you get a gift for everyone on your list? Have you hit all your baselines at work? Did you stick to any of your New Year's resolutions? Although the season is calling for rest, it seems like everything gets ramped up as the year winds down. The holidays will come and go in a flash of red and green and it will be January 1 before we know what hit us. Checking your list twice and marking “done” on your to-do list is satisfying, don’t get me wrong, but I think there’s more to the end of the year than just getting to the finish line. Now’s the time for self reflection.
And no, I’m not talking about writing a list of your goals for 2026 and making a vision board on Pinterest. I’m talking real, honest reflection; looking at the metaphorical mirror of your life and seeing it for what it truly is. I think a lot of people have a hard time with self reflection because it’s uncomfortable. We don’t want to look up close and see all the enlarged pores, fine lines and scars, but that’s truly the only way to grow.
Every so often I get an urge to start journaling again, often brought on by a chill, put-together girl on TikTok who’s giving me her updated journal tour. You may think this is just another wellness trend that claims to be the magical elixir to a happy and purposeful life. Just another thing to add to the never-ending wellness checklist that you’ll never get around to. This is definitely valid, but I think they have a point... Journaling is truly something you’ll never understand the full benefit of until you actually do it. It’s not something that is going to solve all your problems or manifest your dream life right away, but I think it partially holds some power.
On my birthday, I wrote down a list of things I want to achieve in my 24th year. One of which was to get engaged! In a journal entry from over five years ago is a list of traits that I hoped my future partner would have. Flash forward, my (as of two weeks ago) fiancé checks every single box on that list. I’m not saying that just because you physically write something down means it will magically appear into your life, but I’m not saying it won’t happen. I’ve sat down to journal, not about anything in particular, but just to write and reflect. In those sessions, I’ve uncovered things about myself that I never knew. Patterns of behavior started to make sense, things I was anxious about started to become less scary, and for once, I felt like I had some sort of control of my life.
I know journaling feels intimidating. Who am I even supposed to be talking to? How do I start writing if I don’t have a topic to write about? I don’t want to make my embarrassing thoughts real on paper. I’ve had every single one of these thoughts. But you want to know the funny thing? Every one of them can be solved by - you guessed it - journaling!
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you need to carry around a pocket journal or write morning pages every single day. I’m not consistent by any means. I forget about it for months at a time. Sometimes I’m doubtful that writing down my thoughts will solve anything at all. I’m also not going to tell you how you should journal. I’m not going to say that you need to physically write instead of typing. I’m not going to tell you the secret recipe for manifesting everything you’ve ever wanted. The beauty in journaling is that there’s no right way to do it - just your right way. Do what’s convenient. Do what feels right any given day. Write down random thoughts in your phone, or set aside three hours on Sunday night. If you’re writing, that’s the right way.
This time of year is honestly the perfect time to start. Write down anything you can remember about this past year. What went well? What didn’t? What was hard, and how did you overcome it? What are you looking forward to for next year? What scares you? It’s less about resolutions, and more about reflection. We can’t learn from things we can’t remember. We can’t achieve new goals if we don’t understand why we didn’t achieve old ones. Take out your pens, and just write. See what the journaling girls are really hyping up.