Really, I’m always sort of blogging

July 23, 2019 9:52 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Just recently I passed my one-year anniversary of writing in a journal. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure if it’s really a journal because I record my thoughts in feelings in it so maybe that makes it a diary (this mildly offends my rugged masculinity) . The entries I’ve had in my “journal” largely reflect the undertones that I’ve had in my blog. I talk a lot about the gorgeous scenery that I am so privileged to see every day, and the incredibly unique experiences that Forestry has given me over this summer. I typically try to find some time at the end of each day (usually ends being around 9pm) to write in my “journal”, I add the time of day that I wrote then entry at, as well as the date and the weather. I hope that the context I add by including this information in each entry allows me to get a better sense of what my life was like in that given moment in time.

journal with date 8/7/19

Three rules that I journal by:

  • Don’t hide from yourself, everything is going in your journal, both the good and the bad have a place in the story of you.
  • Look back every so often, you will be impressed by how much you’ve grown
  • Make sure to write down the little things you enjoyed throughout the day; it can really help you turn a sad entry around

I came to Mackenzie last summer on a last-minute decision to work and found myself amidst a unique town and experience that I felt like I would want to record. I ended up getting a journal from one of the few stores in Mackenzie that sell stationery, and it has been magic ever since. I recorded my experiences foremost, and thoughts and feelings that were on my mind at the time. I have found the habit of journaling to be an incredibly rewarding experience that allows me to reflect on my day as well as leave myself a story of my past experiences to look back on.

Very recently I learned that it can be important to keep a professional journal as well. My supervisor Eric keeps a professional journal where he objectively records the decisions and tasks that he performed throughout the day. Having a journal allows you to defend your decisions by referencing the rationale that you used at the specific moment in time (when you may have not been able to recall perfectly if you had just been running off memory).

blank open journal with pencil on it

For myself, I have used it to develop myself professionally by recording how I felt about work that day which allowed me to map my behavior based on my reflection on the previous day. Things that I have reflected on professionally include things that confused me, or I had questions about, goals I had for the next day, struggles that I overcame/need to get over. Looking back, I can really see how much I’ve grown both as a person and a professional this summer and I’m incredibly grateful that I have a record of it.

If any of my readers out there are considering starting Journaling, I would highly encourage it. Whether as a professional development too or just a way of recording this crazy journey that were all on together, I promise you will not regret it. Speaking of crazy Journey, I just got back from a long shift at the north end of Williston Lake, I conducted a lot of lichen surveys to protect our caribou friends that live in the rocky mountain trench, and visited a lot of cool sites around the camp that I was staying at.

man standing on top of mountain

Still having a blast,

Trenton.

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