If you’re like me, you probably have thousands of thoughts running through your head every day. Some of these thoughts are basic and instinctual, others are processing the world around me, some are personal, and others are imaginative. Everyone has a rich inner life in their mind, but only a few get to truly express it fully. Most of us have to hide it away and never get to show it to the rest of the world. That is why I keep a journal. I started keeping a journal a few years ago when I was a junior in high school. I always loved writing, but I never had much opportunity to express myself creatively or to write about things that I truly cared about. I had no idea where to begin, since my only experience with the activity was keeping journals in school. I would recommend everyone to keep some type of journal, as I have found it very beneficial to my overall well-being. There are many benefits to keeping a journal, and if you want to start one, here are some things I have learned,

Pick a platform you like.

It could be anything from a marble notebook to an actual diary to Tumblr to even a vlog. Once you pick the platform you feel most comfortable sharing in, you will be surprised at how much you open up.

Write about whatever comes to mind.

You don’t have to write about the most serious topics currently facing your life. Just write whatever pops in your head at the moment. It could even be something as simple as a one sentence rhyme. Just so long as it is authentic.

You don’t have to write everyday.

One mistake I fell into was trying to write every day. Of course, looking back now, that is almost impossible. No one has something to write about every single day. And trying to force yourself is boring at best and inauthentic at worst. Doing so will only put you off from writing in your journal all together, which is not something you want. The best way is to write whenever you feel. It’s your journal, not an assignment in class. You should have the freedom to come back to it at your choosing.

There is no right way to journal

Everyone has seen a TV show where a character is writing in their diary and writes out novel-length passages about what took place in their lives. While that is one to write, it isn’t the only way. You don’t have to follow a set paragraph structure when journaling. You can write in the margins, draw a picture, write a few words at a time, basically whatever you want. Don’t feel as if not writing a certain way makes it less valid. It is your journal and your voice, and no one should tell you how to use it.

If you want to know about my journal, it is a loose-leaf sketchpad I picked up at Staples. There’s nothing guarding it except for a piece of string that wraps around the length of it, keeping it in place. It’s simple, but in it are snapshots of my life at various points. It chronicled much of my high school years, and every moment I felt was critical during them. It also contains some amateur artwork, unfinished song lyrics, stray observations about random thoughts, the beginnings, middles and endings of stories, and other bits of my subconscious. It is deeply personal, as it should be, and if someone were to pick it up and read it I doubt they would be able to understand it. When I write in it, I feel brave in a way, like I’m a part of this elite club. In other ways I feel exposed and naked writing in a journal. Either way, I know that it will be a constant companion with me in my life.