[trip style = any]
For most of my teenage years and early-twenties, I had an on-again, off-again relationship with my diary. Blank pages would get marked up with everything from what I wore to the Sr. Formal {a floor-length teal-green dress, BTW}, who I had a crush on at summer camp, or the eye-popping sunset I experienced atop the Eiffel Tower when I traveled to Paris solo.
Then, one day, enough was enough. Overwhelmed by the time investment of journaling every detail of my day, I broke up with my diary. For 15 years we ignored each other. But, I missed her blank pages, providing a place where I could look at my life from an airplane {aka "bird's eye view"} perspective.
So, we got back together, but in a win-win kinda way. "Dear diary" version 2017 is less long-form and more short-story, less time-intensive and more efficient.
Enter the micro-journal, something I'm attempting to do at home AND on the road. Otherwise, life passes me by faster than a supersonic jet. Without its simple day-by-day bullet points I would forget make-me-smile details like watching baby turtles hatch on the beach in the Great Barrier Reef with Mr. Trip Styler, or seeing Blue Styler take his first steps on a Disney Cruise.
Memories fade, but something my 96-year-old grandpa has taught me is: The joys of yesterday or yesteryear retain their clarity with a few {micro-journal} prompts. Try it. Just three bullet points a day.
PS - If this post were micro-journal-style, I wouldn't have burnt the quinoa I was cooking while writing this :)
[photo by @tripstyler]