When you have the opportunity to travel, you should not let it pass. As you do get to see new places and meet interesting people, be sure to take the time to record your experiences in a journal. Here are a few ways that keeping a journal will enhance your experiences as a traveler.
Enhance Your Self-Awareness
Keeping a journal will improve your weaknesses and faults by bringing those aspects of your personality to light. As you write about your experiences of the day, you’ll be writing from your honest perspective. This will help you see how the stress of travel and new situations affects your behavior. You can use your journal entries to help you improve upon your reactions to different situations.
Make a Record of Events
Exploring a new city or a different culture will allow you to see many other sights, and you may be exposed to so many stimuli that you won’t remember everything for long. You can use your journal to record these moments while the memories are still fresh in your mind. This will help you recall unique events when you return home.
Add More Fun to Your Experience
A journal doesn’t just have to be a collection of words. You can add more to each journal entry to help you capture the flavor of each moment. You can include copies of the menu from your favorite restaurant, postcards you find in gift shops, or photos that you take on your excursions. You can even press a unique flower or plant sampling into the pages of your journal.
Keep Your Bearings
You can use your journal as a guide, keeping a record of the places you’ve been and how you got to each destination. You can also jot down sites you want to see or neighboring villages you want to visit. If you have artistic talent, you can sketch drawings in your journal to help you remember iconic images that can serve as markers for your journey.
If you don’t like writing with a pen and notebook, you can use laptops or mobile devices to make entries in a digital journal. How you choose to keep a journal is a matter of personal preference. Any method you choose will still allow you to enjoy the benefits listed here.