How Journals Are Leading Us to Take More Exceptional Vacations
Six reasons why keeping a journal is the ultimate travel tool, from blogger and traveler Kacey Bradley.
Traveling is an immersive experience. There’s so much to taste, smell and experience that sometimes it’s difficult to remember everything. From where you stayed to the first food you ate when you arrived, journaling can lead to more exceptional vacations.
Not only will journaling help you remember all the little details of your vacation, but it will also give you a sense of gratitude and renewed purpose. From a vacation just an hour away to one across the world, here are six ways journaling makes any vacation better.
1. Have a Place to Put Those Photos
While you might not want to look like a tourist, it’s almost inevitable you’ll take at least one photo on your vacation. Instead of keeping them on your phone, try printing them out and putting them in the pages of your journal. That way you’ll have one place where you know you can always look back at your memories in photo form.
This works well if you’re not into writing. Instead of taking the time to describe exactly what that city looked like, write a few lines next to a photo you put in your journal. Then you can share all the sights from your vacation without feeling the pressure to turn into a rockstar writer.
2. Develop an Intention for Your Vacation
People take vacations for all sorts of reasons. Maybe you’ve had a string of bad luck, or you’re feeling burned out at work. Maybe you just went through a few relationship issues and need a change of scenery. Whatever it is, journaling can help you set specific goals for your vacation. If you want to keep it relaxing, write about that. If you want to discover a brand-new culture, make sure you include that.
Journaling also isn’t just for during your vacation. Write down your intentions for your vacation before you go. This will help you establish a theme for however long you’re away, and keep your mind focused on exactly why you’re taking a break.
3. Bring out Your Creative Side
The simple act of writing can open up creative processes in your brain that you didn’t even know existed. But it doesn’t stop there. Take your journaling a step further by bringing watercolors, markers or colored pencils. Paint, draw and write all over the pages of your travel journal and fill it with lots of colors.
This will offer a complete picture of your trip. Instead of just using words, you can paint what you see when you take a hike or draw the cute little monkey sitting outside your resort. Then, when you look back on your trip, you’ll remember exactly what you were doing or where you were at when you doodled in your journal.
4. Learn and Remember More
If you think about all those hours you spent in class, you might remember how taking notes helped you ace a test. The same is true of journaling.
Journaling will help you remember more about the incredible vacations you take. While small details can get lost in the stress of traveling, journaling will help you slow down and reflect on even the littlest things that happened during your trip. It will also help you learn and grow, especially if you find yourself in a new culture. Take the time to write about your experiences meeting new people and reflect on who you are as a person.
5. Save Yourself from Moments of Boredom
While traveling is always an adventure, there are times of boredom as well. Whether you’re sitting in an airport, on a train or staring out a car window, there are usually times when you feel the boredom and anticipation of arriving at a place or coming home. Fill those times with writing in your journal. It’ll help you stay calm during moments of traveling stress, and it’ll give you something to do during those in-between moments.
6. Make It a Mini Scrapbook
You know all those things you collect while you’re traveling? Think newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, receipts and stickers. Those can all go in your journal.
If you’re trying to keep a comprehensive record of your vacation, put it all in your journal. You could end up losing those precious moments if you toss them in a drawer when you get home. Instead, get creative and thoughtful by artfully decorating your journal with them or putting them on the pages. Not only will it help you remember everything, but it’ll also ensure you don’t lose anything.
Always Take a Journal
Journaling before your vacation can help you set an intention and journaling during your travels will help you remember all the little details. The next time you go on vacation, make sure you take a journal with you. Get creative with it and save all the pieces of your trip that make it meaningful. As you do, you’ll make every future trip more exceptional than the last.
Kacey Bradley is the lifestyle and travel blogger for The Drifter Collective, an eclectic lifestyle blog that expresses various forms of style through the influence of culture and the world around us. Kacey graduated with a degree in Communications while working for a lifestyle magazine. She has been able to fully embrace herself with the knowledge of nature, the power of exploring other locations and cultures, all while portraying her love for the world around her through her visually pleasing, culturally embracing and inspiring posts. Along with writing for her blog, she has written for sites like U.S. News, SUCCESS, Tripping.com and more!
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