Lesson 2: Journaling Exercise

Unlock Your Story

Watching this video... the photos clearly focus on the stage of life I am in at the moment... kids and mommy.

We are all at different stages in our lives...!!

Think about your story at the moment... and what photos you want to use. It could be anything from your pets, to your childhood, a friend. You could focus on one relationship in your life. You could write about this Fall or this week! You could just use photo about you. Your likes, loves, your routines. I can't wait to see what you choose for your album!

~Looking through my scrapbook albums there is a big difference between the pages where I took a minute to dug deeper into the memories versus just scratching the surface.

A lot of times we write what is obvious just by looking at a picture because once you've spent all this time perfecting the design, colors and photos you just want to finish it. This happens to me many times but it's so important to stop and take the time to tell our stories.

If I were in a hurry I might just write something like:

"Avery and Daddy love to play outside. It was a beautiful day and they had so much fun running around the backyard. She loves her daddy so much! They found a caterpillar and put it in a jar to watch it turn into a butterfly. Avery loves animals and even bugs!"

But what is really going on it the picture?

"I was really tired and not feeling good that day. I was in the early stages of pregnancy and the fog of morning sickness, or all day sickness, was looming over me. But it was such a nice day and Collin came home a little early so we were playing outside before dinner was ready. Collin is like a little kid sometimes and today was no exception. He found a caterpillar and was so excited! He showed Avery and she was just as thrilled. She loves ALL animals and even bugs. I mean LOVES. So they made a little home for it in a jar full of leaves, dirt and everything to keep a caterpillar happy. Collin has been wanting to do this for a while because when we was little they did the same thing and watched it change in a jar. He thought Avery would love it too. And of course she would! I love how she's reaching out her hand to hold the caterpillar that he'd just found. I love that she's so curious and fearless. I love how she will explore new things. It's difficult to think about how fast she is growing up. How she's our little curious caterpillar right now but someday she'll spread her wings and take off to explore the world on her own."

It's amazing once you start writing and digging deeper the thoughts that emerge and the stories behind the picture. After taking a bit more time I have this connection now with my Avery growing up and turning into a butterfly herself. What a difference this makes and what great meaning it adds to our projects.

TODAY'S ASSIGNMENT #1:

Write whatever comes to your mind when you look at each of your photos in a journal or on a piece of paper. The more you write the more emotions emerge. Some would call this freewriting:

Free writing — also called writing free stream-of-consciousness writing — is a prewriting technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism. Some writers use the technique to collect initial thoughts and ideas on a topic, often as a preliminary to formal writing.

Unlike brainstorming where ideas are simply listed, in freewriting one writes sentences to form a paragraph about whatever comes to mind.

I challenge you to freewrite in a journal or a piece of paper about each set of your photos. Then we can pull ideas from it tomorrow.

TODAY'S ASSIGNMENT #2: Say hello and introduce yourself and where you are from at our class message board: http://unlockyourstory.netboards.org

TOMORROW: Design the envelopes & Collect our thoughts.