The Importance of Journaling on Your Gap Year

Journaling: kind of like keeping a diary, but with less entries revolving around unrequited love or that start with “Sorry for not writing, I’ve been really busy…”. However, a journal isn’t necessarily meant for grown ups, or for grown up things, either. In fact, your journal can be a useful tool on that epic journey towards “adulthood.” While you’re on your Gap Year, it can also be a helpful place for processing, documenting, and occasionally venting, too. Here’s what you need to know about why your packing list should include a journal and a fancy pen (I recommend G2s!):

Memories Can’t Be Trusted

Memories: while powerful, they don’t always tell the whole story. Documenting your experiences in your travel journal will allow you to better remember all of your surroundings, for better or worse. Help your future self tell more accurate portrayals of your adventures by writing down the details of your daily life in your journal. Memory is a slippery li’l bugger.

The Journal is Yours & Yours Alone

You’re not writing a book here. Don’t write your journal as if the President (or anyone for that matter) is going to read it. It is personal, private, and should be written for you. You can be honest – about everything – in your journal, including your less-than-sweet opinions about places, people, or the experience as a whole.

The Grammar Police Won’t Come Knocking

Who cares if you write incorrectly or if your spelling is atrocious. Your journal is about capturing ideas, observations, and realizations, not about impressing your 5th grade English teacher.

Your Journal is Sacred

Carving out time each day to spend alone, pen to paper, is therapeutic. Being diligent in your daily writings will simultaneously give you an excuse to bow out of the crowd and just do you (extremely necessary for long-term sanity). Your journal is basically a portkey, transporting you to a place where independent processing is valued, building much-needed “alone time” in your day to day.

It Will Become Your Best Souvenir

While blogs are nice, having a tattered notebook, one that you can physically hold onto and flip through, will prove a better keepsake in the coming years than your own URL. Your journal is a time capsule of your Gap Year; having a record of your travels will come in handy when you’re senile and your grandkids want to know about your life abroad.

You Shouldn’t Just Write the Play-by-Play

Who says your journal has to be full of boring stuff or literal explanations of your experiences from start to finish? Use your journal to draw observations, ask questions, make unusual lists, doodle, add coffee rings, make connections. Writing about your experience helps you think through critical issues or tough realizations – excellent fodder for future learning.

It’s a Good Companion For Long Train Rides

If you’ve run out of books to read or you don’t feel like playing Sudoku for the 1000th time, having your notebook handy will allow for instantaneous boredom reduction.

You Can Rant Your Little Heart Out

Travel isn’t always easy; in fact, sometimes it can feel like you’re constantly swimming upstream with no relief. If you’re feeling distressed, your journal can be your salvation (it’s better than bellowing to your new travel buddies). When feelings of travel stress, like homesickness, powerlessness, frustration, or fear take hold, writing in your journal will be a healthy outlet for handling them.

Track Your Inspiration!

Sometimes it strikes at the most wonderful times, an elating sense of empowerment, excitement, and freedom all jumbled into one big smile on your face. Whenever you hear a new song, quote, or idea that brings on these jubilant feelings, put it in your journal. As you gain awareness about your passions and capabilities, learn about new must-read books or documentaries to watch, or feel charged to make a difference, jot it down to inspire your future self. With any luck, not only will your journal prove a necessary outlet for preservation and thought processing on your gap year, but you’ll come to fully realize the benefits of writing exercises in all aspects of your life. Here’s to many bookshelves filled with your observations!

Photo Credit: Aaron Burdin