Today I laid out on my raft and someone had their stereo on really loud and it was FANTASTIC! We ate at the Revolving Restaurant. We threw the frisbee on the beach tonight. Tomorrow, we leave.

This is a passage from a journal I kept when I was sixteen years old. This entry was written while I was on a summer vacation with my family. Those simple written words are priceless to me. Most likely, I would not be able to recall the events of my younger years so clearly without the help of my journals. I enjoy reading them because it is fun to be reminded of thoughts, feelings and experiences of years gone by. I also like to see how my thoughts, my handwriting and my writing skills have evolved over the years.

Keeping a journal is a simple thing to do. Anyone can do it. Maybe you are sitting there thinking that you do not like to write so you would never choose to keep a journal. Well, guess what? Writing daily in a journal can become one of your favorite past times once you discover how rewarding and easy it can be.

A journal is uniquely yours. No one can create a journal for you and it is something that no one else has to know about. There are many benefits that come from keeping a daily journal. It can serve as a lifelong record of the events in your life or help you improve your writing and your critical thinking skills. Daily writing can also be therapeutic while connecting you more strongly with your ability to be creative.

Julia Cameron discusses how daily writing can lead to a more creative life in her book The Artist