Get a journal!

The key to becoming a good writer is to take the time to practice the art of writing!  Today so few students take the time necessary to actually improve as writers.  We want a "quick fix" to everything whether it's our electronics, the work we produce, or even sometimes our relationships.  Attention to detail, craftsmanship, has been, largely, lost in our civilization.  Food is fast, microwavable, and clothes are thrown out at the sign of a loose thread.  And between our computers, iPhones, iPods, radios, television and video and computer games, who has time to reflect, re-write, and redo anything.

I am always astounded when I hear a student say that he or she spent fifteen minutes writing a paragraph only to find out that it is "D" or "F" work.  They seem shocked.  Writing, to many, has been reduced to fragments, quick broken sentences via text messages.   "I <3 u" replaces the romantic love notes so treasured by couples in love in previous centuries who wrote each other five page long letters detailing their thoughts to one another.

Recently I gave students an assignment to write themselves a letter and then enclose it in a self-addressed, stamped envelope.  One student said he had never written a letter before, or at least not a real one--only ones for school that were never actually sent.  Over half the class did not know how to address their envelopes!  And still a third student did not realize that you had to lick the envelope to seal it!  Writing, pen to paper, is almost completely a lost art as everything has become digitalized.  But with digitalization often comes that lack of reflection.  Spell check quickly fixes errors, and when students can type 50 words per minute, it is no wonder that they hardly take the time to consider their choice of words or whether or not the way they are phrasing something actually makes sense.

And that is why I am asking you to get a journal--with paper!  I want you to be able to feel the page and see your handwriting.  I want you to personalize your journal.  It can be big or small, fat or skinny.  You can illustrate the cover or purchase one with a cover you like.  You can cover it in quotes that you like or images that strike you.  Make it yours because for the next few months it will become your friend.  I hope the experience will make you life long keepers of a journal and through that, reflective people who realize that rushing is not always what leads to a joyful experience of life.

Have you ever kept a journal before?  Why or why not?  Do you look forward to keeping one?  Explain.