Travel. “Trav.el, Tra-vel “
- : to move from one place to another
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: to go on a trip or journey, to go to a place and especially one that is far away
Traveling is no more just going from one place or having a trip. It has become a new way of life.
Traveling rejuvenates us. It gives us the break, the peace we much require. It is often said that our mind needs new images and that is why it is always suggested to take walks in nature and discover new parks and roads that will refresh our mind. Traveling takes this to the next level.
It gives our mind new visuals, surroundings, new experiences, a chance to learn about new customs, religions, taste different foods, make new companions, enhance our creativity and allow us to know ourselves better. In short, it broadens our horizons.
What are Travel Journals?
Travel Journal is a collection of your adventures, memories, learnings, new experiences that you gain during your travel. It is a diary/ notebook filled with the life you have lived or want to live on a trip. It may include:
- Planning of a journey aka places you want to visit, things you want to try at those places, etc.
- Pictures from your travels
- A collection of things like air/bus/train tickets, food bills, stamps, etc
- Sketches, painting you made of places/buildings
- A detailed experience- what all you did, how it felt, what did you learn, etc
- Reflections- Log your personal growth
How to start your Travel Journal in 2022?
Journaling should not be a wearying task to you. It needs to come naturally. You may already have a travel journal but fail to maintain it. There are things you can do to get to the point of finding happiness and peace in maintaining a travel journal.
The first step is to prepare you for this.
- Get Yourself a Journal - If you want to inspire yourself to begin this journey, might as well get your hands on that pretty journal you have your eyes on. You can also convert a notebook or a diary into your travel journal.
- Pens, colors, etc- Keep pens, colors, painting colors, etc in handy. Choose whatever works for you.
- Camera- You can use your phone’s camera to click pictures of places, buildings, food, your companions, random things, etc throughout your travels and later print them out to paste in your travel journal.
- Stamps/Stickers/Washi tapes/Printables- These things make your journal look more aesthetic and pretty. It is not mandatory to buy these. Begin your journal and see if you need to add more things to your journal. Don’t invest in something you won’t use.
That is it. This is all you need to begin your Travel Journal. A pen, a notebook, and some inspiration go a long way. It is never too late to take up journaling.
How can you successfully maintain a Travel Journal?
Here are a few tips that will help you get a hold of Travel journaling and keep you motivated:
- Journal what you plan to do and learn on a trip. Have a basic layout. Write about what you think the trip would be like. This in turn will also excite you.
- Keep your journal in your handbag so that you can journal whenever and wherever you feel like it. This will keep you regular in your entries. Journal often. It shouldn’t feel like a task. Rather it should make you feel peaceful. Writing things down, drawing, etc makes us calmer.
- Choose a certain theme or aesthetics to go with if you wish to. But if you want to go free and pour your soul into this journal the way you like it, then go ahead. Write about how things made you feel, about people you met, describe things in detail if you feel like. The goal of Journals is to engage you in a reflective activity.
- Paste photos, stamps, bills, tickets, draw sketches, etc. to bring your journal to life. Also, it will look so pretty and you’d just want to keep journaling for the rest of your life.
- Journal at the end of the day. The memories of the day are fresh in your mind so whenever you get to your room to lay down, take out your journal and write it all down.
- After the trip, when you come home, settle down and take out your journal and start pasting those photos, write about how the journey affected you, what made you super happy or disappointed you. This reflection after a trip is very important.
- Go ahead and make a tour guide. Flaunt this baby whenever someone needs help planning a trip.
- Look back at these times sometimes, to re-live those memories, to remember things and people that you might have forgotten.
- Journal about places you want to travel to in 2022 and keep checking them off from the list with each trip.
- Lastly, Plan your next trip. But also, leave space for the unplanned fun because the unplanned moments are what make life worth living.
Journaling is a stress-relieving activity that you must include in your daily routine, be it in any form.
So, go ahead and begin this journey. In a year, see how it has changed you and come back to this blog and tell us how it went for you.
