Dear Quiet

initiating … journaling
uninstalling : perfectionism / comparison
output > healthy . habit

I blame Amanda Rach Lee for my journaling becoming so complicated that I stopped doing it for years -_-

Okay, maybe it’s not entirely her fault. I’m actually kidding :-] It’s not her fault at all. But I gotta say, watching people do these perfect, intricate, complicated journals online did more damage than good to my journaling.

I’ve journaled since I was sixteen, but never felt any pressure to do it in any certain way. Same in my twenties.

Fast forward to my thirties, and you’d think I’d be beyond peer pressure? Or maybe I just got a little too inspired, a little too competitive while watching other people create their journal pages with perfect hand-lettering, better-than-Disney doodles, and colors.

Oh, so many colors.

But the truth is, I’m not good at colors. I’m not good at doodling or hand-lettering. Heck, just getting my own handwriting to be legible is challenge enough…

Well, eventually I deleted all of my social media. (No interesting story to tell here. When “social media” changed to “influencer ad media” I just got bored and left.)

And with deleting social media, away went the photos and how-to videos of the overly complicated bullet journals and art journals and sticker journals and… you name it. All of it.

And… away went this inner pressure to make my journal look like something other than me.

It may sound silly that I would fall for some kind of comparison trap, especially with something as simple and personal as journaling. But I’m not immune to the pull of pressure. Even if I’m only part human 🦾 ;-]

Now, I’m my forties, I journal however I want. My journal cost a whopping total of $5. There’s not a sticker or decoration to be found. My handwriting is my handwriting and it is unique.

I let my thoughts out in such a way that, by the time my head hits the pillow at night, I’ve let out all the days worries and joys and everything else…

I’ve been sleeping much better because of it.

My journal is not pretty. It’s definitely not Instagram-worthy. But it’s real, and it’s helpful, and it’s become a really healthy habit to sit and jot down whatever is on my mind, in my own way, with my own hands.

Take care,
Dear Quiet

signal/log: 1.15.2026
heart.status = uniquely.me
lesson.learned: imperfection_is_okay