Nowadays I feel like I’m on a roller coaster where I am unable to catch my breath during school. I’m continuously moving from one class to another, adding homework to my notes, and stressing about everything. Plenty of people go through life using a solid coping mechanism or a way to destress, but I still feel stressed out within daily life. Healthy coping mechanisms include listening to music, exercising, painting, drawing, or reading but it differs for every person. As soon as I get home from school, I’ve got an option to relax or start working on homework right away. Even that choice brings me a small amount of stress because if I take a break, then in my eyes I’m wasting time, but on the other hand I feel so worn out and just want to relax. As a sophomore, I feel like I’m very stressed out over little, simple things that could easily be fixed by a quick decision. I tend to overthink things and the outcomes of my decisions, and I’m slowly realizing that it isn’t a positive way to live life.

Lately I’ve been hearing more talk about keeping a detailed journal of your daily events, whether it’s electronically or physical. According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, journaling has many benefits to reap. Journaling can help manage your anxiety, will help you destress, and become a healthy coping mechanism. It especially helps track your daily moods and see what triggered you to be in a lower or higher mood. It becomes a great space for self-positivity and no one has to read it unless you want them to. You could write down daily or weekly goals and to-do lists to help you get through the week. It doesn’t matter how long you’re journaling for, what matters is how you feel afterwards.

I have decided to keep a semi-detailed journal for the month of February, giving myself 28 days to see if journaling can be helpful to a stressed out high school student. I have set some rules for myself and have to completely stick to them for the next 28 days. No matter what, I have to have at least one entry down everyday to hopefully see a growth. The entry length doesn’t matter as long as I talk about my mood throughout the day and my stress level, yet details are appreciated and encouraged. Plus, if I find any songs that have helped me relax during the day, I will write them down as future reference. If I break either rule, my next entry has to be double what I wrote last, lengthwise. The goal isn’t surrounded by the writing, which is simply a way to check myself, the main goal for me is to see an improvement on my stress levels. I will publish weekly check-ins where I describe any changes within my stress.

If you are someone who has thought about journaling in the past, try it with me this February to see if there’s any healthy changes for you. Find a notebook, a pen, and be ready to motivate yourself throughout this month.