Memory journaling is the most personal gift you could create and a super creative take on the old school time-capsule. Imagine flicking through your childhood journal and experiencing all of the nostalgia but none of the cringe. That is what memory journaling does.
Here is how you can get started.
What is memory journaling?
Memory journaling really is what it says on the tin. It is a journal filled with memories.
You can interpret it any way you like. Treat your memory journal like a scrapbook, filled with physical mementos. Add handwritten notes documenting how you felt in any given moment, what you could see or what surprised you. Draw or illustrate an experience you want to keep forever.
Just like bullet journaling, you can interpret memory journaling any way you like. That is one of our favourite things about it.
An essential reminder before we start
Social media is a highlight reel (it is no wonder we need to digital detox sometimes). It is natural to want to remember the good stuff. But do not forget to document some of the tougher moments in your memory journal too.
They remind you of what you overcame. They show you just how much you are capable of. And prove just how far you have come.
How to start a memory journal
Step 1: Gather your memories
Collect physical mementos from moments in time: concert tickets, photos, or souvenirs. Whatever they are, keep them someplace safe until you are ready to add them to your journal.
Step 2: Add the personal touch
Scribble notes as you go so you can capture the feeling of each moment before it fades. You can do this straight into your memory journal or use the notes app on your phone, then write it out properly later.
Step 3: Document it all in your memory journal
Now, pull it all together. A travel journal works brilliantly for trips and adventures, while a lined notebook or museum journal gives you room for longer written entries plus sketches and collage at the back.
Choose your memory journal
Pick a cover you will want to open again and again. These are three of our favourites for memory keeping:
- Blue Shells travel journal for holidays and adventures
- Cherries recipe journal if you are building a family recipe heirloom
- Sand museum journal for scrapbook layouts with room to draw
Memory journal ideas
For college or the end of high school
Your memory journal can be a bit like a high school yearbook, but with the people you actually hang out with. Capture final moments together or document your last year before graduation.
Include: playlists, event ticket stubs, photos, messages from friends and predictions for what could happen next.
For travel
When you are going on a gap year or a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, a memory journal documents that experience in a creative and visual way.
Include: plane tickets, photos with people you met along the way, notes on how you are feeling, postcards and unexpected souvenirs. Our travel journals are built for exactly this.
For life-changing experiences
If you are having a baby, planning your wedding or stepping into the world of work for the first time, it can feel like you are wrapped up in the busyness of now. But one day you will want to remember exactly how you felt.
Include: baby scans and milestones, moodboards from wedding planning appointments (try a wedding planner alongside your journal), and notes from your first day at work.
For each decade
What if you could create your own time-capsule to reopen at the end of every decade? As you turn 20, 30, 40 and so on, document that moment. Then reflect on it as you enter the next, and see how far you have come.
Include: thoughts, hopes and fears for the future, alongside the seemingly mundane everyday of now.
For general joy
There is nothing wrong with turning your memory journal into your own (more personal) highlight reel. Capture special moments that bring you joy and happiness.
Include: notes and photos of simple joys, messages from friends, kind words you have received and surprises from strangers.
A memory journal as a gift
A memory journal is one of the most personal gifts you can give. It cannot be bought and it cannot be created by anyone else but you. It is 100% unique.
You could look back at a time or occasion you shared with someone special, and document your side of that experience. That way, they can experience it over and over again.
Or, make like Jae and start a living memory journal shared between the two of you as an ongoing project. Send the journal back and forth to keep in touch, a bit like a pen pal but with far more detail.
"One of us keeps the journal for a few weeks and we share current life events, song recommendations or plans we have for the future. We have been doing this for the past three months and have been loving it! It is our unique way of staying in touch." @planwithjae
With a memory journal as a gift, you can still be in each other's lives, even when you are physically far away.
