[thunderrabbit]

My first entry was like "Welcome to thunderrabbit's journal! Today is April 11, 1987 and I just had a fun experience that I want to remember..."

Journaling off and on since 1987, I have a few rules for myself when journaling:

1. Write the time, day of week, date, month, and year for every entry.

2. Don't worry about lapses in writing. Just write a new entry when I can.

3. Allow my topics to be spontaneous. I sometimes have a structure I'd like to use, but allow freedom in any moment.

4. Relish mistakes, smears, stains on the paper by labeling them, e.g. "tea stain while studying with Akane" (real example!)

5. Just enjoy the process of writing.