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January 19, 2022

Journaling

By Barry Rudesill

A couple of weeks ago, The Trek was at the Districts Youth Conference in Green Bay! As part of the event, we have to have “giveaway” prizes for the teens. Typically we hand out t-shirts and other merchandise like that; this year, however, we decided to be...different. Instead of clothing, we had some specially-printed, hardcover journals, complete with engraved pen.

Why journals? Because the purpose of a journal is to help us take the thoughts that are swirling around in our heads and getting them down on paper, instead. When they’re in our heads, we can’t examine them; when they’re on paper, it’s easy to sort through them. It really is that simple.

But, since we were working with teens, we decided to include some instructions for “How To Journal” with the books. And, as I was sitting here, thinking about my blog for this week, I wanted to share that same information with you! If you had opened your Trek journal, this is what you would have seen:

How To Journal

Hello! What if we told you that you hold in your hands the key to one of the greatest stories in the world? It’s true! Why? Because you are holding a journal and in its pages you can record YOUR story! (You are pretty amazing! Did you know that?)

In case you’ve never used one before, a journal is a place where you can write down your thoughts and feelings, your hopes and dreams, your successes and disappointments. It’s a place where you can be...you...without having to worry about what other people may think. It’s also a place where you can dump the thoughts that sometimes swirl around in your head onto paper and get a better look at them!

To do that, we have a few suggestions on how to write a journal:

Step One: Be Real

In a journal, you don’t need to pretend, you have no one to impress, and you can be “you”. Write what you really think and feel, not what the world tells you that you SHOULD think and feel!

Step Two: There Is No Grade For Journaling

What do we mean by that? We mean that you don’t need to worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation, or any other school-related concepts! (Yay!) In other words, write whatever and however you want!

Step Three: Ignore The Lines

While you CAN write on the lines, you don’t have to! Sometimes you may need to sketch or doodle, increase the “font size” of your writing to better express how you feel, or even just “attack the page” with your pen.

Step Four: Re-Read Your Past Thoughts

As you’re working on your journal, take some time to go back and re-read what you’ve written in your past. Can you find patterns? Do you see areas you can improve on? Are you becoming who you want to be? Writing in a journal is good; reflecting on what you’ve written can be life-changing!

Step Five: Ask For Help

If you find a lot of negative thoughts in your journal, if you can’t seem to move forward, of if you find yourself dealing with suicidal thoughts, it’s not weakness to ask for help...it’s strength! Stand up for yourself and find someone to walk with you! You don’t have to live life alone!

If we can ever be of service, please contact us on our website at www.thetrek.org or by emailing us at info@thetrek.org.

Now, if you notice that there is one fairly obvious step missing. Does anyone know what that is? Typically, when journaling, we encourage people to keep their journals private. But as we wrote this letter to the teens, we decided NOT to include that step. Why? Because there ARE times when showing your journal to another person can be helpful and promote healing.

There are times when we need help making sense of our thoughts; there are thoughts and memories that simply don’t “fit”; and there can be a need to show someone else how their actions influenced us – both good and bad. Because of that, we didn’t want to create a “rule” that says “NEVER SHOW OTHERS YOUR JOURNAL!” Instead, we want people to use their journal in a way that best fits their specific needs.

If you haven’t started a journal yet, we would love to encourage you to do so. You never know where that step may lead!

From all of us at The Trek, we hope you enjoy your journey!

January 19, 2022

Journaling

By Barry Rudesill

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