Journaling Prompts

Welcome! I hope you are doing well :) Here you will find a compilation of daily prompts I use. The prompts are a mix among prompts I pull from random lists, thoughts that pop in my head, and questions from books I have read. I used to think journaling with prompts was a bit cheesy, but in the past few months, I have found a lot of value in working with prompts. A few benefits I found were:

● It builds habit. Knowing that I have a prompt to answer every day kickstarts the day for me.

● It doesn't matter if my answer is one sentence or two long paragraphs, as long as I answer the prompt, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

● It allows me to reflect on myself, my life, and my environment. In my daily life, I don't get to sit down and just think. Having to answer a prompt gives me the opportunity to keep in touch with myself, no matter how silly the question is!

So, I hope you join me in writing a few lines a day!

P.S. You might notice that for a lot of the questions, I did not include follow-ups like, "why?". This is because I want you to decide whether you want to expand on your answer. Sometimes I'm only in the mood to write a blunt 2 word answer. Sometimes, I write 2 paragraphs. The "why?" is implied.

A Peek Inside My Journal

A few of my favourite entires! You can read them, but no judging...

June 24
Q: Why do you think most people are scared of spiders? Are you?

A:I am mildly afraid, but I don't mind them. I think it's the unknown that is scary. Like, they crawl so fast that they could disappear in 3 seconds, and we don't know whether they are out of the house or crawling up your sleeves. So I guess it comes down to unpredictability? Also, it's probably partially a taught thing. I can't imagine humans who live more closely with nature be afraid of spiders. I'm guessing that at some point, we hear other kids, parents, and media yell in fear about a spider, so we learn that it's a scary thing. Now that I'm older, I started to not kill off spiders. I use the cup & cardstock method to relocate them outside. I'm not sure if this is a thing, but I feel like spiders are very intelligent and they have feelings.

June 17
Q: Do you like Saturdays or Sundays better?

A: I looove Saturdays. Since it's immediately after the last work day, the joy of the rest day is pronounced. But also, since there is Sunday to look forward to, it's a safe, in-between day. Sundays are great too, but with Monday creeping up, there is more pressure to make the most out of the day. The dreaded Sunday Scaries!

June 11
Q: What is a weird rabbit hole you went down?

A: I spent quite a few nights reading & watching documentaries about large crowds and crowd crush incidents. This was shortly after the Travis Scott concert so it made sense why I was interested, but man I was thinking about it 24/7 for a few days. Part of the reason why I am lowkey really scared of large crowds now, and I have no interest in attending a Taylor Swift concert despite it being my dream since I was a kid. I know I would not survive a crowd crush. I am not scared of death, but I really don't want to die while suffering physically, you know???

May 25
Q: What is a luxury you like to splurge on?

A:Definitely getting my nails done! 3 weeks of feeling polished ;) I use my hands a lot so it makes me happy to see them pretty & done! Getting to choose a colour also makes me feel in control of something in my life lol.

May 24
Q: Name a public figure who has inspired you.

A:Taylor Swift :) She is not perfect; I'm sure she has done shady things. But I admire her work ethic so much. She puts everything into her craft, is good at it, and it looks like she has fun doing it! I also love how she treats everyone who has helped her get where she is now. I hope to emulate her tenacity and geneorisity, but umm, on a much smaller scale.

April 16
Q: How do you feel when you tell people what you do for a job?

A:At one point in my life (mostly highschool), I was embarassed. Actively tried to hide my business, probably because I had (and still have) low self esteem. The fact that I was doing someting outside of the norm made me feel uncomfortable and out of place. But now, I am very proud to share that I run an online stationery business. It's a great conversation starter especially since most people are not familiar with the planner and stationery world. It's a pleasure, and I'm so lucky to have this job!

April 13
Q: If you could tell your parents one thing at the time of your birth, what would it be?

A:I need a little bit more patience than Karen. My brain isn't as organized, I am more "out of the lines", and I am not conventionally a smart kid. But I promise I will always try to impress you and show appreciation for all that you do for us. I love you ♥

April 5
Q: What is a fashion trend you like and dislike?

A:Like: High waisted mom jeans.

Dislike: Crop tops. I swear I have to double check when shopping to make sure it's a full shirt.

Mar 17
Q: What quality do you dislike in other people?

A:Unreliability and arrogance. The first is mostly because I have anxiety and ambiguity of any kind stresses me out. It also signals to me that I am not worth their effort. The second is a turn-off in general. Typically, arrogance comes with close-mindedness and being quick to dismiss.

Mar 14
Q: I wish I had the money to...

A:... go to the grocery store and pay for everyone's grocery haul each time. I think that is how I would be able to make the biggest, most direct, and most useful impact on people who need it most. Imagine being able to do that every single time.

Mar 12
Q: What's the most difficult part about being you?

A:My brain is annoying to deal with. Imagine fighting with yourself 24/7, two million ideas running around all at once, while being sure that your life will end in the next year if you don't act on XYZ right away. Being obsessed with certain things to the point of exhausion, while a simple task that should take 5 minutes to do ends-up taking 3 weeks and a whole lot of worrying and planning. Having a clear idea in your head but not being able to string together the correct words and just my presence bring other people discomfort because surely, something is off about me.

Feb 18
Q: What do you think you are the top 1% in?

A:Sardine consumption.

Feb 14
Q: What was the first way you earned money?

A:Ohhh boy. Doing commissions on DeviantArt. They have "points" as currency and I remember it to be 100 points = $1, and you also had to meet some threshold of points to cash it out. My small pieces went as low as 1pt (1 cent) and my bigger commissions ranged from 10-50 points. God forbid it's in the triple digits haha. But I loved it, and I didn't mind at all. It helped build my foundation for art. I also tried to sew hair bows but nobody bought them lol. Also tried to start a meal prep service after reading a novel about it. I was so naive haha. Zero cooking & service experience and I thought people would be lining-up for my cooking. Yikes... 

Feb 2
Q: What is one of your quirks?

A:The way I eat hard-boiled eggs. I have a ritual that I follow and apparently it's a bit strange:

(1) Peel the egg whites and eat it layer by layer

(2) Eat the egg yolk last

Obviously this only works for true hard-boiled eggs. I eat jammy soft-boiled eggs normally.

Jan 24
Q: When do you feel proud?

A:When I do the right/selfless thing when I know no one is watching.

Jan 19
Q: What is a trait you wish you had?

A:Charisma, which I currently have none of haha. I think no matter what other trait(s) one has, charisma will get a person very far in life. I'm not sure if charisma is something that can be acquired/practiced. I will have to look into that!

Jan 6
Q: What would you do if you found hair in your food?

A:Honestly, pick it out and eat it (the food, not the hair omg). I obviously don't want hair in my food, but I will not make a big deal out of it as chances are, there are grosser things in the food. Dead skin, spit, all the nasties floating in the air. And unlike the aforementioned things, you can actually take out the hair so I find it to be less gross. But now I am losing my appetite thinking about it.

Journal With Me!

If you are needing a bit of background noise, here is a journaling session of mine without any talking.
Just pen on paper :)