THE JOYS OF WRITING IT DOWN

I’m an avid note taker, a result of being observant and curious yet wildly forgetful. It’s my way of making sense of the world. 

Writing lends itself to the way I navigate: an eagerness to learn and a yearning to remember.

When I was a kid, I created stories to an audience made up of my Dad and stuffed pig. I was a child with equal parts imagination and old soul. It made sense I preferred the library and Barnes and Noble over Toys-R-Us. It was one of the few places I could roam around unsupervised and not have to beg my parents to pull out their wallets. I have fond memories of planting myself cross-legged between aisles with a pile of books on the floor beside me. Some were familiar and well-loved, others a shiny new adventure. On special occasions, my folks let me pick out a journal or stationary to take home under my arm; my prized possessions. 

Journaling was never something I outgrew. 

If anything I become more fond of it with age. Luckily I broke the habit of moving onto new journals before filling up all the empty pages. Regardless of gaps of time stretched between entries, pages no longer go wasted. 

Sometimes, writing comes in small spurts. The streams of consciousness that don’t make it to the inside of my moleskin live in my notes app. They serve as a snapshot of the in between moments. A Rolodex of categories get filed under: observations of strangers, words/phrases that make my heart dance, thrift wish lists, blog post ideas, etc. Each note is a bookmarking my thoughts.

In The Midnight Library there is a quote I keep chewing on, “Never underestimate the big importance of small things.” 

The words are reassurance to my soul. As an empath, it’s one of the things I caught onto early in life. Pay attention to the little things, celebrate them, write them down. Future Amanda will appreciate it when memory escapes me. It helps work out the hard, messy stuff too. Writing often untangles my thoughts and rearranges them in a way that I can process.

I was inspired by a podcast episode about the importance of keeping a grateful journal. In the past, I contributed to them sporadically. I’d only feel compelled to write on really good days or really bad ones. Last year, I gifted Jordan a Book of Love. When you have a partner for over a decade, you learn to get creative with gift-giving. Inside I compiled his kind gestures, inside jokes and our fun dates together. No matter how small or silly, he made filling up the pages easy every single day. Every so often we’ll open up the love book on a random page and read a few entries; the returns on joy exceeded my expectations. It turned out to be a gift for both of us, really. 

Sometimes when the creative well runs dry I remind myself that note taking is still a practice in writing. A place to draw inspiration and meaning. Direct and in the moment, lists are writing in its purest form. There’s something refreshing about leaving explanations by the wayside.

I don’t jot everything down, but I’m thankful for the things I do. It’s a moment in time that tugs at my sleeve and says “hey aren’t you glad you were paying attention?”