The new year offers everyone a blank slate—a fresh start to change what needs to be changed and discover or try something new. As we begin to color our initial chapter this year, many of us are searching for new habits to cultivate throughout the year, from fitness to crafts and other hobbies. One activity worth exploring is creative journaling.

Merging art with writing, creative journaling is one of the best ways to make a moment last forever. It is personal and challenges everyone to be resourceful. And just imagine how fun it would be to play with simple memorabilia and look at your finished work by the end of the year.

To learn more about creative journaling, Style Weekend reached out to Sheereen Tibajia-Esquivel. A mother, social media manager, and entrepreneur, Sheereen sees creative journaling as a craft that doesn’t require everyone to be “creative,” despite its name.

“Most people find creative journaling intimidating because they think they need to be conventionally creative to do it, but no,” Sheereen says. “If you love memory keeping, this is for you. All you need to do is just start, collect ephemera and memories, and have fun immortalizing your memories!”

Sheereen’s passion for creative journaling began after she graduated. She attended a free journaling workshop and thought it was cool because it’s like keeping a diary and doing scrapbooking at the same time. Eventually, she became a master of the craft, hosting creative journaling workshops herself and becoming an ambassador for Project Lemons, an artist-entrepreneurship initiative founded in 2016.

According to Sheereen, there are many types of creative journaling—Travel Journaling, Bullet Journaling, Art Journaling, Daily Journaling, Gratitude Journaling, and more. While starting a journal can be overwhelming, in her talks, Sheereen shares prompts and ideas that people can use as jumping-off points to kick-start their journals. They can begin by writing about themselves with topics like “Facts About Me,” “A Day in My Life,” or “Looking Forward To…” These prompts help them capture and reflect on who they are in their pages.

Other prompts to explore include “Highlights of the Week,” “Life Bucket List,” and “Wins, Accomplishments, and Breakthroughs.” They can also include their favorite things in the pages of their journals. Think of favorite travel destinations, skincare routines, outfits of the day, and the best food spots in the metro. Apart from chronicling life moments, creative journaling ignites inspiration. It helps people record their thoughts, manage their emotions, and manifest their dreams.

One doesn’t need to purchase a lot of materials to do creative journaling. According to Sheereen, beginners can start with just a notebook and use ephemera like photos, receipts, cards, and stickers to decorate their journals.

“What I love about journaling is that it is very forgiving! As I’ve said, you don’t need to be ‘creative’ to do it, and it is really therapeutic,” she muses. “I love it because it makes me love and enjoy life more. It gives me a chance to immortalize my memories with my family and friends. Lastly, it gave me the opportunity to meet super lovely and interesting people in the journaling community.”

If you’re looking to start your creative journaling journey this year, Sheereen will be leading a Starting a Journaling Habit talk with Journal Tambay on Jan. 18 at YL Holdings in Makati City. To learn more about her future workshops, visit @shee.creates_ on Instagram.

Hello, readers! Do you have a story you want us to feature? You can—reach us via [email protected] or on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok.