I am not here to make you buy the Journal of Expectations (but I mean, you definitely should). But I am here to tell you the story of how I switched to the Journal of Expectations from traditional journaling and never went back. So yes, maybe I am pushing you to get the Journal of Expectations—just a little.
I have been journaling for as long as I can remember, particularly when I was feeling a heavy emotion like sadness or anger. Writing was my outlet, my refuge. I really struggled to talk to people about how I was feeling, but my journal? She knew everything. I would write endless pages in one entry, and it helped me a lot. Once I finished writing, I would close my diary and take a deep breath. It was as if all my problems had been transferred from my body into this journal.
In 2020, I was preparing to start the next chapter of my life—university. This was huge. I was leaving my family home and heading four hours up north to study and live a life I had no idea how to navigate. I remember opening my journal like it was a holy book, searching for answers about how I was feeling. But then, the pandemic happened. First, it was announced that classes would be online. Then we were stuck in our dorms. Not long after, my university allowed students living on campus to go back home and continue classes from there. For months, I was constantly moving from the north to the south of England and back again, trying to balance my two lives in the middle of a global crisis. And just when I thought that was hard, first year ended, and I started my year abroad in second year. I went to study in Amman, Jordan, for a year, bringing new emotions, new thoughts, and a whole load more journal entries.
During this time, I was constantly packing and unpacking. And for those who know me personally, this meant doing a deep clean of my room and reminiscing about all the things I found from my past—deciding what was worthy of taking with me on my travels. Within this ritual, I would always find old journals. I would read entries mid-packing and start crying, not just because they were emotional, but because they were filled with sadness and anger. I used to read these pages resenting who I was when I wrote them, upset that my past self only ever seemed to complain.
One day, I stopped and asked myself—what was the point? What was the point of journaling if all I had were recollections of frustration and pain? If I never wrote about the positive moments in my life, if I never truly documented my growth, how would I ever see how far I had come?
That was when I made a small but powerful change. I started journaling as usual, but I sectioned off space on the page to write an update and reflect on what I had learned since writing that entry. And oh my goodness, it was a game changer. That little shift completely transformed the way I journaled. Instead of a book filled with only the down days, I had journals that showcased my personal growth. I could flip through old entries and quickly understand the lessons I had learned and see my progress in real time.
That’s when I realized that traditional journaling was holding me back.
In my second year of university, I told a friend about this journaling style and how much it had helped me. I wished other people could experience it too. And that’s when the idea sparked—why don’t I create a journal like this for everyone? That’s how the Journal of Expectations was born. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I was motivated by how much this method of journaling had helped my mental health. I wanted others to have the chance to rewrite their narratives, take control of their stories, and shift their mindsets.
So I guess that’s where Reiwrite was born too.