One thing I haven’t really covered up to this point is the idea of doing your journaling digitally – on a computer, tablet or other device. This is possible, but I really recommend you write by hand. There are a couple of reasons for this.
As a creative and artistic person, I’ve always been fascinated by handwriting. I think our handwriting, the different ways people write, is really interesting.
When I was younger I had this friend who used to write in this lovely script which I tried to emulate, but couldn’t quite master. Then I had another friend who had really neat flowing writing which I also liked. I always notice a student’s handwriting when they submit assessments, and often comment on it. I think it says something about me that I’m so obsessed with handwriting!
I see handwriting as a form of self-expression – a sort of creative outlet, in a way.
We can be deliberate and try to change aspects of our handwriting, which I have done over the years, until we start to like it. And it can tell us about our mood when we look back on our writing – if it’s messy and rushed, we might have been angry, for example.
Looking back through my journals, I like to see how my handwriting has changed over the years, and I encourage you to write by hand and learn to love your handwriting if you don’t already. It is a unique expression of who you are and you can learn to write differently if that’s something you want to work on.
The other thing is that there is something different about writing by hand. A sort of connection to our words, and, I feel, to something bigger than us. At times, it feels like the pen is moving itself. Like my hand is moving across the page and I merely watch what comes out.
There is a connection between my hand, the pen and the page.
When typing on keys, in the jarring and staccato manner of hitting one key after another, we lose a bit of that physical feeling of the words flowing out of us, down the pen and onto the page. It makes me feel connected to something bigger than me, and intimately connected to the words on the page.
Overall it’s a matter of personal preference, and if it comes down to not being able to journal unless you do it digitally then I still recommend you do it digitally than not at all!
See what works best for you, but if you have the option, try to go analogue.
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