I’ve been keeping track of Tayari Jones’ blog and recently read an interesting blog post a few days ago here. Jones wrote about wanting to start a daily journal and was in search of the perfect journal. She successfully found a Moleskine journal that was easy to carry and write in. I’ve always been jealous of the people who wake up in the morning and journal while drinking coffee or the breed of writers who refuse to go to bed until their thoughts are written on paper. I have tried many times to start a journal. All attempts have rendered unsuccessful. I think I have failed at the art of journaling because my expectations are always too high. In my mind I want to be able to right down play-by-play details of my emotions and actions of the day. I want to scribble exciting sentences about the handsome stranger I met on the street or the $100 bill I found in my car. Maybe if I lower my expectations and just write the bare facts of my day or just how I am feeling then I can successfully keep a written account of my life. My goal: start a journal and write in it once a day, even if I do have to make up exciting crap.
Chealsea Crouse is a senior majoring in Communications.
Sequoya Review 
I used to feel like I was failing at keeping a journal because I thought it was supposed to be some sort of informal autobiography. But now I just use the journal in the morning, almost as a meditation. I just write whatever is on my mind– sometimes I just write about my dreams or my crazy hectic schedule. The writing makes me feel so much less crazy for the rest of the day. It’s not profound or comprehensice. It just sort of helps me calm down. A kind of magic, I think.