Our pre-teenage and teenage years are considered to be the most vulnerable time in our growing up. In this period of life, we're faced with both physical and mental changes that can be quite confusing. And, if we don't find the right means for processing and understanding these changes, this period could be particularly difficult for us. This is why it would be a great idea for all teens and tweens to start journaling.
Journaling offers a chance to explore your inner self and learn in the process. It can take a lot of burden off your chest and help you build a positive self-image. To help you out, we’ve created a list of 7 helpful journaling tips for all tweens and teens.
Let’s take a closer look.
1: Remove Privacy Doubts
The first obstacle that most tweens and teens face when considering journaling is the fear of being exposed. Nobody wants to write their deepest secrets and have someone else read them.
This is why you should first make sure that nobody’s going to read your journal:
- keep it under a locked drawer
- keep it on a flash drive
- keep it in a protected folder on your computer
- ask your family to respect your privacy and not read it
Do what you think will make you feel safest, and make sure you feel like there’s no reason for privacy concerns. This will help you journal successfully.
2: Be Completely Honest
At first, you might find it hard to be 100% honest in your journal. This is because you’re used to writing for an audience like a school teacher or a friend you’re chatting with.
But, this time there’s no audience. Keep reminding yourself that:
- nobody’s grading your
- nobody’s going to read it
- honesty is the only right way to go
If you catch yourself thinking one thing but writing down something different, just stop. Take a deep breath and think about what we just said. Then, continue writing honestly.
And, in case you need help with essay writing that will actually be graded, writing services can help you out with that.
3: Start Small
Journaling is a challenging process, especially in the beginning. And, if you keep forcing yourself to do it even when you don't feel like it, it will have a negative effect on you.
Instead, start small:
- don’t create a journaling schedule
- write only when you feel the need
- write when you’re dealing with ideas and emotions
- write when you feel like talking to yourself
In time, you’ll see how great you feel after finishing a journaling self-care session, and will start doing it more and more often.
4: Don’t Overthink
The best method for journaling is writing from the top of your head. You should avoid preparations, thinking about what to write, or forming the sentences in advance.
Instead, just sit down and start writing.
In time, you’ll learn how to write like this:
- words will keep coming to you
- you’ll be transferring your thoughts to your journal
- you won’t even know what you’ve written down until you read it again
This is the effect you want to achieve. Writing as the thoughts come to you instead of overthinking is a great sign that you’re doing great.
5: Explore Your Emotions
Processing how we feel is an important segment of preserving our mental health. Suppressing our emotions can cause anxiety and even depression, especially with teens and tweens.
Thus, when you’re journaling, make sure to cover how you feel. Whether you’re writing about an event that happened at school or an episode inside your family, always process your emotions.
Be very specific. For example:
- This made me feel insecure about my body.
- I wanted to hide and cry.
- I got upset and very worried about what’s going to happen next.
The more clearly and precisely you write, the better you’ll understand how to handle it all. Your emotions are a huge part of who you are so you need to ensure they’re a huge part of your journal as well.
6: Include Letters
Sometimes, there are things we want to say but we don’t know how or we don’t have the courage to do it. Talking to another person honestly can be quite frightening for young people.
This is why you should try out writing a metaphoric letter.
Here’s how to works:
- address the letter in your journal to a person you wish to talk to
- write down how you feel
- write about the things you wish to tell them
Make sure to be completely honest, since the letter will remain in your journal. Once you finish, you’ll feel:
- relieved
- satisfied
In addition, you might even learn something in the process. Feelings and words will come to the surface and you’ll start realizing what this person represents in your life. In the end, you might even gather the courage to talk to them for real.
7: Do a Retrospective
Once you're journaling for a certain period, you'll be able to take a look back at some of your initial entries and older stories. Make sure to date all the entries to be able to keep track of the changes.
Reading your old entries will help you:
- learn about your personal progress
- learn about your growth
- gain perspective on the importance of journaling
Looking at your thoughts and emotions from a distance will help you realize who you are and how you’re changing. It will also make it easier for you to embrace yourself just the way you are.
Final Thoughts
Keeping a journal is an effective and helpful method for reaching inner peace and establishing balance in life. For tweens and teens, it helps deal with the stress of growing up, reaching maturity, and experiencing changes.
Hopefully, the tips we’ve listed above will help you start journaling successfully. Start using them as soon as possible and enjoy the beneficial effects of keeping a journal.
Author bio: Jessica Fender is a professional writer and educational blogger at GetGoodGrade, an aggregator for useful college resources and websites. Jessica enjoys sharing her ideas to make writing and learning fun.
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