Bullet Journals: A Creative Outlet

A bullet journal is a great creative outlet that helps with organization and frankly getting your life together a bit. With all of the different pages you can make to your specific needs and all the ways you can decorate to make the journal your own, a bullet journal can accommodate to anyone.

“The Bullet Journal is a organizational system in a notebook that keeps track of anything you would like to write down in an coherent way,” Tinyrayofsunshine.com states.

In early 2018, I started getting the idea of having and making a bullet journal from some of the Tumblr study blogs I follow. Seeing and reading their experiences with their bullet journals and all the amazing artwork and creativity that they put into them was what really made me want to start one.

Seeing and reading their experiences with their bullet journals and all the amazing artwork and creativity that they put into them was what really made me want to start one.

— Addie Azevedo

My own bullet journal ship really sailed when my grandma gave me a journal that she had left over that 2018 summer. I had a jist of what I wanted in my journal, but did not know all the different things that could be possible until I started looking up inspiration. There were so many ideas that I had to start a Google Doc to write them all down on. That Google Doc ended up being how I would set up my first journal.

I never exactly finished my first journal because doing one is a little overwhelming at the beginning and since it was my first journal, I made many, many mistakes. Those lead to me losing motivation to finish it and just using it as a planner and nothing else.

There were pages that ended up being labeled wrong which then offset sections, which then offset the page numbers that I had made for each section. In the end, I somehow had enough pages for a whole school year planner and then some.

I honestly did not think of a planner for my junior year at RHS until it was close to the end of summer and I realized I needed one. Making the planner was one of my favorite parts of my first journal because I had all the freedom to make it mine. There are so many ways to set up the monthly and weekly calendars and so many different fonts and colors to freely use and make your own.

There are so many ways to set up the monthly and weekly calendars and so many different fonts and colors to freely use and make your own.

— Addie Azevedo

Don’t get me wrong, my first bullet journal planner was working fine, but it also made me realize how much I should have added. There almost was no room for all of the things I needed to write down and all of the ideas I had. That is why I changed things drastically for my second and newest bullet journal.

This time I made room for me to write down all the things I need to get done and made room for important notes and dates. By splitting up weekly notes and monthly notes, I can keep up with deadlines and projects easier than before. As an added plus for me, I love crossing things off and writing the deadlines down and then being able to put a big line through it when it is finished is very satisfying.

A section of Azevedo´s old planner.
Some sections of Azevedo´s new and improved planner.

 I love using my bullet journal as a creative outlet because I am making something completely my own. My bullet journal is also a way of self expression because it is my art and my writing put into a journal or two. Writing things is one of my personal favorite past times, so being able to do that while also benefiting myself in the future, especially for school, is a good feeling.