This year is big.
Junior year: in a sense, the year of deciding your future. The year of college tours and SAT/ACT training, the year of important grades and envisioning your future. As I head back to school, I almost feel a sense of vertigo, as if I am looking down from a great height, about to fall into this future. At times, I feel as if I am losing my balance, overwhelmed with just the idea of what lies before me. However, I also acknowledge a sense of beauty in this vertigo, of whirling head-first into the wonderful possibilities of what lies ahead, of floating, airless, straight into the center my unknown life.
In honor of back to school season, I figured now would be a great time for my bullet journal tour! I have been using it especially a lot lately with the endless dates I have to keep track of as I head back into the swing of things. Keep on reading and viewing to see how I stay organized and creative!
Junior year: in a sense, the year of deciding your future. The year of college tours and SAT/ACT training, the year of important grades and envisioning your future. As I head back to school, I almost feel a sense of vertigo, as if I am looking down from a great height, about to fall into this future. At times, I feel as if I am losing my balance, overwhelmed with just the idea of what lies before me. However, I also acknowledge a sense of beauty in this vertigo, of whirling head-first into the wonderful possibilities of what lies ahead, of floating, airless, straight into the center my unknown life.
In honor of back to school season, I figured now would be a great time for my bullet journal tour! I have been using it especially a lot lately with the endless dates I have to keep track of as I head back into the swing of things. Keep on reading and viewing to see how I stay organized and creative!
p.s. two poems in memory of summer! (the second one I am still working on)
clean
my room smells like it again
like cotton clouds and crisp sheets between my legs
like waking up at seven am to read a book
with the pillow propped up behind me
like laying on my bed for hours staring up
at the ceiling and letting my eyes
soft swivel swim
to the art and the quotes and the pictures and back to the ceiling again
like blue and white and faded green
like scrolling for hours
reminiscent childhood
a kind of summertime dream
lullaby clean
xx
swim
iridescent dreams
fragmented light memories
making wishes on
constellation eyes
dive high
don't say goodbye
midnight blue
summer with you
xx
1. CALENDAR
First up is my calendar, aka the most essential part of my bullet journal. Over time, I have evolved my calendar to a clean-cut, simple design with a touch of creativity so that I can easily view everything going on in my schedule. I take up two pages with each month's calendar, designing a large spread with plenty of room in each day to write down main events. I usually will color theme each month with little doodles on the edge of the calendar to keep things cute but practical. I know that my calendar may not be as artsy or beautiful as other bullet journal calendars, but this works for me right now until I have time to experiment with other designs in the future. Also, I created a collection of mini calendars in the front of my bullet journal for dates like birthdays and national holidays.
clean
my room smells like it again
like cotton clouds and crisp sheets between my legs
like waking up at seven am to read a book
with the pillow propped up behind me
like laying on my bed for hours staring up
at the ceiling and letting my eyes
soft swivel swim
to the art and the quotes and the pictures and back to the ceiling again
like blue and white and faded green
like scrolling for hours
reminiscent childhood
a kind of summertime dream
lullaby clean
xx
swim
iridescent dreams
fragmented light memories
making wishes on
constellation eyes
dive high
don't say goodbye
midnight blue
summer with you
xx
1. CALENDAR
First up is my calendar, aka the most essential part of my bullet journal. Over time, I have evolved my calendar to a clean-cut, simple design with a touch of creativity so that I can easily view everything going on in my schedule. I take up two pages with each month's calendar, designing a large spread with plenty of room in each day to write down main events. I usually will color theme each month with little doodles on the edge of the calendar to keep things cute but practical. I know that my calendar may not be as artsy or beautiful as other bullet journal calendars, but this works for me right now until I have time to experiment with other designs in the future. Also, I created a collection of mini calendars in the front of my bullet journal for dates like birthdays and national holidays.
2. GRATITUDE LOG
Definitely one of my favorite parts of my bullet journal, I keep a gratitude log for each month on the page following each calendar. At the end of a day that may have been stressful, busy, happy, etc., I always like the idea of centering myself and picking out one or more of the things I am grateful for or that made me happy from that day. After all, it is the little things. Plus, it is fun to look back at old gratitude logs to see all the things I was grateful for, making it a sort of memory log in a sense, too.
Definitely one of my favorite parts of my bullet journal, I keep a gratitude log for each month on the page following each calendar. At the end of a day that may have been stressful, busy, happy, etc., I always like the idea of centering myself and picking out one or more of the things I am grateful for or that made me happy from that day. After all, it is the little things. Plus, it is fun to look back at old gratitude logs to see all the things I was grateful for, making it a sort of memory log in a sense, too.
3. DAILY QUESTIONS
After my gratitude log, I keep a list of daily questions going. I found this idea on Pinterest and I will link some of the templates below (via Pinterest), but for each month there is a unique question for each day to reflect on and answer. A lot of the time I will answer all of the month's questions in one night, but I find it to be an interesting way to reflect on yourself and to get to know yourself better.
After my gratitude log, I keep a list of daily questions going. I found this idea on Pinterest and I will link some of the templates below (via Pinterest), but for each month there is a unique question for each day to reflect on and answer. A lot of the time I will answer all of the month's questions in one night, but I find it to be an interesting way to reflect on yourself and to get to know yourself better.
4. LISTS
Lists, lists, and more lists! I feel like lists are something that you can find in almost anyone's bullet journal, from bucket lists, to places to travel lists, to things to do lists. Some of my favorite lists I have created are a playlist list, a bucket list/summer bucket list (which I love to look at to get ideas for new things to try and experience), a 'things I love' list (which I view if I am ever in a bad mood and need a reminder of all the things I should be grateful for), and a manifestations list (which I have become especially active on lately with my recent fascination with the law of attraction and manifestation). Look up bullet journal lists on Google and you will find endless options for what you can make lists of in your bullet journal!
Lists, lists, and more lists! I feel like lists are something that you can find in almost anyone's bullet journal, from bucket lists, to places to travel lists, to things to do lists. Some of my favorite lists I have created are a playlist list, a bucket list/summer bucket list (which I love to look at to get ideas for new things to try and experience), a 'things I love' list (which I view if I am ever in a bad mood and need a reminder of all the things I should be grateful for), and a manifestations list (which I have become especially active on lately with my recent fascination with the law of attraction and manifestation). Look up bullet journal lists on Google and you will find endless options for what you can make lists of in your bullet journal!
5. DOODLE PAGES
I have found bullet journal doodle pages to be the perfect place to expend creative energy without the dedication and time commitment. One of the main reasons I created my bullet journal was as a new outlet for me to be creative. A lot of the time with school, work, etc., it can be hard to find time to be creative in my daily life. I have found that bulleting, specifically via doodle pages, is a perfect outlet for this creative energy that does not necessarily have to draw me in for hours like creating an art piece does. Some of my favorite doodle pages I have created in the past are doodles of the the things I love and doodles of some of my favorite words in different fonts.
I have found bullet journal doodle pages to be the perfect place to expend creative energy without the dedication and time commitment. One of the main reasons I created my bullet journal was as a new outlet for me to be creative. A lot of the time with school, work, etc., it can be hard to find time to be creative in my daily life. I have found that bulleting, specifically via doodle pages, is a perfect outlet for this creative energy that does not necessarily have to draw me in for hours like creating an art piece does. Some of my favorite doodle pages I have created in the past are doodles of the the things I love and doodles of some of my favorite words in different fonts.
6. SWATCHES
Whenever I get a new pen, marker, washi tape, etc., I love creating a lil swatch of it on my 'swatches' page. Besides just being aesthetically pleasing to look at, it is nice to keep track of all the bulleting materials one has :)
Whenever I get a new pen, marker, washi tape, etc., I love creating a lil swatch of it on my 'swatches' page. Besides just being aesthetically pleasing to look at, it is nice to keep track of all the bulleting materials one has :)