At times in my college experience, my creativity was dulled. I had always prided myself on being creative, and though I was in a somewhat creative field of writing, there was so much creativity left in me. I was trying to figure out what to do with all of this creativity that was bunched inside me. I was writing my assignments in my planner one day for the week, and I realized that there was a lot of space on the pages. I got out my book of stickers and started decorating to fill these empty spaces. This was the beginning of something that would bring me great joy. I began finding communities of people who liked to do the same thing on social media, which is how I got into journaling.

In the Beginning...

When I started decorating my planner and journaling, I only had a few supplies. A lot of the page was filled with doodles. I got tired and bored quickly of drawing the same thing over and over again. I learned that there was so much around me I could use. I started gathering pamphlets of events I went to, play and concert tickets, receipts, and other memorabilia from my experiences to tape into my planner and journal. Not only did it help fill out the space, but it also served as a scrapbook for all the memories I had gathered while in college. Now that I am in graduate school looking back at my old planners and journals creates a flood of happiness from the memories I made and the people I met.

How Exactly Did I Get Into Planner Decorating?

I was filling out my planner with my class schedule, assignment due dates, and extracurricular activities. I knew I had to have something physical to help remind me of my consistently busy schedule since I am a visual learner. There was always something going on in college. I had extra stickers around and added them to the empty spaces. Then, I discovered washi tape. If you do not know, Washi tape is a one-sided tape with different variations of decorations or plain colors if that is your style. I often found inexpensive washi tape at local dollar stores, Amazon, or local supply shops. Not only did I have fun decorating the space in my planner, but I also wanted to look at my assignments more and keep track of my due dates!

How Exactly Did I Get Into Journaling?

I had known for a while that people would get an empty notebook and write down all their thoughts, good or bad. There might actually be some benefits to this. The more I wrote my random thoughts down, the better I felt. Releasing stressful thoughts onto a blank page that no one else can read is incredibly rejuvenating. I then realized I could do the same thing as my planner decorating. I would fill up the pages with my thoughts and then decorate the pages with scraps of paper from my day.

Both planners decorating, and journaling have helped me navigate the college experience. I had bits of free time, so I would take my planner and journal decorating kit in my backpack. It also helped me establish breaks between studying at the library to get my mind out of work mode and into a creative one. The more I got creative, the better I felt about all of these external factors pertaining to college. Although, this is not the only way to get creative. There are a lot of crafty activities out there that can help with stress. For example, I had friends who learned how to crochet or made objects from polymer clay. Whatever you choose to work with, know it is not for nothing. Your mental well-being is directly important to your success in college. It is easy to get burnt out. It is important to remember to have a little bit of fun too.