David LePere
“Why do we have to write in our journals,” complained one of the teenagers during our 6-day backpacking trip.
“Because,” said my co-leader, “all of these lessons you have been learning out here translate into lessons for your life back home. You need to dig to find them…and that happens when you journal! Look, the challenges are pretty obvious out here. We can see ourselves for who we really are when we’re challenged by a physical task…we have to figure things out and respond. And, we can take this great self-discovery and do something positive with it.”
He continued, “Back home we get busy and distracted and just don’t take time to ask ourselves questions like, ‘What did I learn from this?’ or, ‘How might this help me in the future?'” He capped off his speech with a declaration, “So, if we are going to go to all the trouble of carrying these big heavy packs, sleeping on the ground, getting tired and being rained on, we ought to take the stories, insights and lessons out of this trip and use them for the rest of our lives. Now take your journals, and go find a quiet spot with a good view and do some writing!”
Journaling is a discipline. Journaling is also a tool of self-discovery. At Cherokee Creek Boys School, we know that chronicling interesting events or personal observations helps boys develop emotionally and gain insight. Journalling offers a time of quiet refection and an opportunity to come face to face with yourself…something that is often missing in our busy lives.
Cherokee Creek Boys School is a therapeutic boarding school for middle-school boys, ages 11-15, located in Upstate South Carolina.
I am so glad we encourage journaling at CCBS. I have journals that go back over a decade and it is so interesting to look back and see both patterns that continue…and, thank goodness, growth! Julia Cameron, in her book The Artists Way, encourages writing 3 pages…and only 3 pages… every morning. It was life-changing for me and what catalyzed me to start Cherokee Creek! 🙂
I could not agree more wholeheartedly. When I have a problem, I often find that I can figure out the answer by writing about it. Writing helps you organize your thoughts, and by writing something down, you don’t lose your train of thought quite as easily. I am a HUGE proponent of writing – whether you journal, write letters (not that any CCBS boy will win a medal for writing home EVER), or write for a living. As long as you create a connection between your head, your heart and your pen, you’ll likely uncover some good stuff when you take the time to write.
Sometimes journaling can get you to make changes in your life just because you get so sick of “hearing” yourself whine about the same things day after day after day as you write.
As The Fonz would say, “Write On!” When Butch is working with his English students on writing, you can visualize the logic circuits in their brains getting together and firing off, a little more smoothly and in-synch with each paragraph. As fun to watch as a child going from walking to running!