Escaping and Expressing, One Page at a Time
- care
- Sep 16, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 17, 2020
This has been a crazy, hectic, draining year. It seems that almost every week, I have a new opinion or thought about something happening in the world, and I do not want to bottle it up any longer. I have found it much more difficult to express myself through writing. Words are typically my best friends. Normally, it's easy for me to grab my journal and dump whatever is in my mind onto the lined pages. I love to craft my thoughts eloquently, dive deeper into my ideas and try to find the “why” to many of my personal dilemmas or dramas. But recently, I am experiencing a severe case of writer's block. It seems that with all of the news revolving around; the pandemic, black lives matter movement and police brutality, the 2020 election, fires in California and everything else we are exposed to on a daily basis, my love of words has subsided. I feel very discouraged opening my journal and I was having a difficult time balancing my need of expression and how to properly do so. I was inspired by Margot Lee, a lifestyle vlog / blogger when she created an Instagram story about Quarantine journaling. Her stories sampled prompts for her followers to mimic, like a group project during quarantine. Although I did not follow her guidelines, I was inspired and decided to try a visual journal. This made me realize that I wanted to make a separate journal that visually represented how I was feeling and what was happening now. I have a strong background in journalism and I have always followed the rule, “show, don’t tell,” when it came to writing stories. That quote inspired my visual journal even more, as I want something to look back on to visually represent what I was going through during 2020. So far, this has been something I really look forward to doing monthly and depending on what is going on in my life, even weekly!
I encourage everyone to find a way to express themselves creatively during this year whether it is journaling, dancing, making music, connecting with old or distant friends. It is so important to check in with ourselves during this time to figure out what we need and how to get just that. If any of you are inspired or intrigued by my prompts, please feel free to incorporate them into your own journals. I am attaching a few photos from my own entries so you can see how I am choosing to decorate my pages, yet I will not be sharing all of my pages. I want to continue to have my visual journal as my safe space. To follow my journal... journey, click on the "journal" highlight on my Instagram!
Some of my prompts:
How are you feeling right now?
What is happening right now?
How has the pandemic made you feel? What do you miss?
What are some of your healthy habits you have picked up?
How do you see yourself right now?
Write a letter to yourself to read next year.
What are you trying to manifest this coming year?
Your favorite quote (words or letters from different publications)
Write out your favorite songs at the moment (make a Spotify playlist) - idea from Margot :)
Week in my life- save receipts, photos, knick knacks during the week and glue them in.
To check out Margot's quarantine journal follow her on Instagram @margot.lee
Love this! Feeling the same way. I really need to document this historical time in the world and how I am coping and dealing with it.