College may be a stressful period full of new beginnings, and we often neglect to focus on how we are feeling about what is going on around us and within us. That is why journaling is crucial, yet we may not know where to begin. Here are ten prompts to journal about in college!
Up first on journal prompts for college students: Reflecting on 3 things that made you feel happy today. One important aspect of journaling is being able to create a space that gives you a positive mindset and allows you to express gratitude for even the littlest things in life. By giving yourself some time to reflect on what made you smile that day, you can learn to appreciate that you can always find at least a little bit of good in each day. Some days it may be easier than others, but either way, you will be able to reflect on how you can make life a day at a time by seeing which small gifts from the universe you were given that day.
Similar to reflecting on the good parts of your day, it is also important to reflect on the not-so-good parts of your day! Our next idea for journal prompts for college students is to take a moment at the end of the day to think about certain things that may have put you in a bad mood during the day; whether they made you stressed, angry, or sad, and also try to think about why these things made you feel a negative way. This is crucial because it allows you to become more aware of what events negatively influence you so you can avoid them or know what to do if you do come across them.
Up next on our journal prompts list is to allow yourself to write down five things you want to achieve that day. The list can range from simple tasks such as drinking plenty of water to more urgent things like meeting an important deadline; writing out what you wish to accomplish will help you to organize your priorities and make them seem more doable. Plus, this will help motivate you to get things done that need to be done or that you want to achieve! It is always important to keep your list of daily goals to a minimum of about 5, at least at first, that way you are less overwhelmed and more likely to get everything done. Checking off all 5 boxes on your list will leave you with a sense of accomplishment and motivate you to continue getting things done each day.
Our next idea for journal prompts for college students allows you to really reflect on your college experience. By writing down both things that you are stressed about as well as what you are looking forward to, you are showing to yourself on paper that there is always a silver lining that can be found. Not only that but contrasting what you are stressed about with what you are looking forward to will also help lift your spirits and create a more positive mindset for the semester! It is always important to provide one (or more) positives with each negative; you don’t want to end up with a longer list of things you are stressed about or else that defeats the purpose!
Next on the list of journal prompts for you to write about: 5 Things That Inspire You And Why. By listing off things that push you you are reminding yourself of who you want to become; putting your inspirations down on paper will motivate you more to make them come to life! Maybe you can write about a person that inspires you or even a movie; whatever it is, it has to be something that reminds you of why you are doing what you are doing. This will help you keep your head up through trying times and drive creativity in ways that you will accomplish what inspires you.
In case you haven’t realized, our journal prompts are all about mindset boosters! Listing off what you are proud of can mean many things; you may want to list off what you did today that made you proud of yourself or things about yourself that make you proud to be you. It is extremely important to take time to appreciate things about yourself or your day that make you feel a sense of accomplishment or proudness; this will help you create a positive and more driven mindset. Don’t feel too pressured to write down anything too crazy, just know that you can even be proud of yourself for simply getting out of bed that day!
Another important aspect of these journal prompts is self-reflection; taking time out of your day to become more aware of everything going on in your life and how these things are affecting you. It’s a terrific approach to reflect on different elements of your life by sitting down and thinking and writing down things you desire more or less of! Maybe you need more time reading a book and less time in front of your phone, or you need to drink more water and less sugary sodas. By starting off with more simple everyday things you can work on, this will help you then reflect on changes you need to (or don’t need to) make about bigger aspects of your life such as your relationships or work life.
Here is another one of our journal prompts that focuses on self-reflection; writing out your fears and deciphering why you are scared of them. Sometimes, thinking and reflecting about things you are afraid of will help those fears go away or will help you think of ways to conquer them. Sometimes these fears may be that you are scared to fail an upcoming test because you feel like you are not doing good enough in the class; by reflecting this fear on paper, you allow yourself to recognize the fear and then think of productive solutions for it. Recognizing why you are scared of something may also help you with other things going on in your life or with your mental health!
Reflecting on what you may have been avoiding this week will help you in a similar way as writing out what you are scared of. You are becoming more self-aware of what you may be putting off and why you may be doing this; for example, if you have been avoiding telling a friend something this may mean that you are feeling guilty. As you reflect with yourself about these things, you allow yourself to better understand your actions and emotions which will benefit you in the long run with future relationships and situations. It may be difficult, but it is always important to allow yourself to face your own mind to help understand what is going on up there!
Our last piece of advice is not necessarily a prompt, however, it is one that will be very helpful to any college student. If you are not sure you are ready to write out full journal prompts, why not stick to making simple lists? These are short and easy to write, but serve very similar purposes to any of the prompts we listed today. Create a bucket list for your day or week to motivate yourself to get things done, write out a list of things you love about yourself to create a more positive mindset, and write a list of things that may stress you out to become more self-aware. Lists are a perfect way to still reap the benefits of journaling on a more college student based schedule!
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