Written by: Abby Han

Journaling can help release any pent-up emotions and stress that people feel. Especially with junior year infamously known as being the most stressful year in high school, I decided to try journaling my emotions and stresses for this week’s trick. The next coming weeks are going to be especially busy for students as the year is coming to a close and we are all rushing to do IB exams, finals, and SOLs. At the start of the week I mapped out all the exams and important assignments I have due for each day. This really helped me divide my time efficiently and prioritize what classes to study for and what assignments I should work on. I developed a code to categorize my levels of priority. I used two colors to categorize what assignments are most important. For instance, red was used for the assignments that I needed to get done for that day and blue was used for assignments that were less of a priority. I also used stars and dots to indicate what assignments to do first. I used stars to indicate the assignment I must get done that night and dots were used for assignments that can be done later. Creating a code for my assignments really helped me stay organized throughout the week. Especially when I had multiple tests in a day I was able to prioritize and stay organized.

Aside from keeping an organized agenda, I also spent 5-10 minutes before going to bed to journal my thoughts or write about what I did that day. Not only is staying organized in school important, but also keeping in check of your mental health is equally if not more important. Journaling my thoughts helped provide an outlet to relieve any stress or pent up emotions. I found this similar to how when I write assignments down, I don’t have to worry about when the test is or what the homework is, because I wrote it down in my agenda. The same goes with journaling my thoughts. I found that writing out what I’m feeling that day, whether that was stress for my SAT score or distraught from a test that didn’t go so well for me, allowed me to leave all these negative emotions on the page.

I think that journaling was a great way to reflect on my thoughts and day while also giving my mind a rest from the constant grind of school. I recognize that journaling may not be for everyone and that everyone deals with stress or sadness in different ways. However, I do suggest that everyone try journaling at some point in their lives, because it can be very therapeutic to get all of your stress and negative emotions out of your head and onto a piece of paper. By doing so, you will most likely be more prepared to deal with all of the other assignments and obligations that are stressing you out. I hope you decide to try it out!

My rating out of five stars:

★★★★☆