Paula first introduced the journal writing idea to us in our introductionary Skype session right at the beginning of our course. Initially I thought this was just a tool we could use to write our current ideas about different sections of the course and the tasks we were working on. To be honest it wasn't something I originally gave that much thought into. But now I realise that there is so much more to writing a journal and it can benefit not only ourselves on the course but our work, practice and life in general. I have discovered that journal writing is a great tool in learning and reflection and should be used to maximum efficiency to aid our education.
At first I struggled with writing in my journal. I found myself reluctant to write down my feelings and thoughts but by following the structure of the table provided in the handbook with the different examples of journal writing I have now become more comfortable with writing in my journal. I think I felt conscious that someone else would read it ... Not that I was writing anything particular private but it was just the idea of having my emotions exposed that made me feel uncomfortable. This never used to be a problem with me because until I was about 14 years old I had a diary that I would write everything in. Sometimes I would even write down quotes from arguments I had with my sister which are extremely entertaining for us both to read back on now! I am so glad that I did this when I was younger because when I read back on them now I can get a real understanding of what was going on in my head when I was growing up and my diaries throughout the years have helped preserve special memories from my childhood which otherwise could have been forgotten. Although at the time I was obviously not writing a journal for the purpose of education I can learn things from reflection now and think about how I have changed growing up and how my feelings, beliefs, likes and dislikes have changed or even remained the same. I remember even from the age of 10 doing doodles of ballet and pointe shoes on my diary and it's funny to think that dancing has always been a passion of mine and I can see that by reading through my diaries throughout the years.
I began my journal writing experience by just making notes on my iPad whilst on the company tour bus every morning when we were travelling to performances and also on the journey back in the evening. In my morning journal entries the words 'tired' and 'sleepy' commonly occurred so I came to the conclusion that the evenings were a better time for me to write as I had more to write because the events of the day were fresh in my mind (and I wasn't as tired). I actually prefer hand writing my journal on paper rather than on a device. Partly because I don't completely trust technology and didn't want to risk my work being accidentally deleted .. So I decided if I bought a nice journal it would inspire me to keep up my journal writing routine! My journal differs to my blog because it is much more informal. My journal is an organised mess of my mind and I use lots of mind maps and bullet point lists to organise my thoughts. I often write in shorthand and probably to someone else reading my journal it wouldn't make very much sense! "Writing is a means of puzzling through what is happening in our work and personal lives..." Boud (2001) I think that this quote from the educationalist completely summarises how I feel about my journal writing!
I have discovered that I actually really enjoy journal writing and find it quite calming and therapeutic. I have always been a big fan of to-lists and more or less write a new one everyday so now my journal is a place where I will write these too. Often during the day at work things will happen that I could use to learn from and reflect upon and writing these events and thoughts down stops me from forgetting them and helps me to reflect through critical thinking. I have learnt that lots of interesting ethical issues will arise at work and now I am writing these things down I am more aware of these issues arising. Even though I have only been writing a short amount each day in my journal and sometimes I will just note down some bullet points it is very interesting to see how my mood and feelings each day at the time of when I saw writing in my journal affects the way in which I write. This is something I will continue to explore.
Over the last nine days I have been using the table provided in the handbook to write an entry each day which is what my next blog post will be about.
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