“Journals are unsung heroes, the working stiffs of creative life. They live in the pockets and shoulder bags of all sorts of people.” -Melissa Alvarez
A lot has happened since my last post. I’ve found other ways to channel my often-dormant writing energy or whatever you want to call it, one of which is actually writing with pens like they did back in the ol’ days! I’ve picked up journaling and I’ve taken it to some amusing lengths as I tend to do with these random hobbies I pick up. Does anyone else do this? It’s like once you’ve finally decided you like something you obsess over it and begin scanning every aspect of your life to see how you can apply or engage that new discovery? Maybe on some level I am just THAT starved for some adult-like decisiveness :/
I’m talking stickers- all sorts of them, that can apply to anything and everything. Stickers are so cheap too so it’s great, and you can find some for every type of holiday, occasion, emoji, etc. Then we have different colored gel pens that feel really good in your hands and are just SMOOTH once they hit the paper. I also indulged in some crayons. Scented ones. Don’t judge me, I told you: I go hard. I’ll stop there but I will throw in that I got some pastel paperclips because I absolutely LOVE attaching momentos, handwritten notes, receipts, movie stubs, theatre tickets, the likes.
I mean the space for creativity is just endless. And it aligns with my conscious efforts to engage more in the REAL world versus the digital/online world. No shade. And I’m trying to expand my horizons and previously I’ve admittedly never been much into Arts and Crafts. I always had these friends who loved their colored highlighters and would be sure to use all the colors while my basicness played it safe with the black ball point. But it’s a whole new world, Baby, and I’m the adult in this world which means I choose what to splurge on and if it’s not going to be a massive and chic wardrobe in lieu of more adventures and experiences (more on that laterz), we will scale back the expenses by finding a healthy alternative and that is my fun, colorful, and creative Lily Pulitzer JOURNAL.
This journal is the tangible soul. It contains dreams, hopes, aspirations, obsessions, thoughts, ALL POSITIVE. It started out being a joy bullet journal but has since evolved..gone are the bullets and now I’m wondering why I’ve kept it exclusively POSITIVE? Ever watch the movie Inside Out? You need the sadness to conceptualize or highlight the happiness, right? I should start including the not-so-positive also. *upside down smiles and nods*
My friend and I write each other back in forth in a designated and personalized journal. She was sweet enough to purchase the journal and initiate this tradition and she even put a VA State and a SC State on there (so crafty, see!). VA is where I live now BTW! Richmond, VA with my great S.O. for about 7 months now! A far cry from tropical Tampa which is where I had been for 12 years. Anyway, we mail it back and forth and I think my neurotic entries have somewhat journal-shamed her into stepping up her game. T if you’re reading this, I’d like our journal back sometime this lifetime please *cry-face emoj* (JK, I know it’s only been a week.)
Target has PRECIOUS magnetic bookmarks that I also use in there to mark the IMPORTANT pages (YA know: breakfast smoothie recipes by Dr Mona on YouTube, personality traits you wish to improve/work on, Christmas list recipients, etc.) They are rose gold and have the cutest, most random pics like flamingos and tropical trees! Haha so Tampa. OK OK I’M DONE!