Putting thoughts to paper

Katherine Mohr / Chips

Ben Nordquist (‘15) is dedicated to journaling.
He journals frequently, putting his personal thoughts to paper. One day last spring, he asked his friends if they wanted to do the same.
“It was really spontaneous,” Nordquist said. “I just sent out a mass text to a bunch of different people, asking if they’d be interested in journaling [together].”
The impulsive text message led to the creation of the group known as Journal Time, a bunch of friends who currently meet for an hour on Sunday nights to help make journaling a social activity.
The group meets in Brunsdale lounge and walks together. Eventually, someone suggests a meeting space someplace on campus where they hang out for a while.

Katherine Mohr / Chips

Each week, someone different leads Journal Time, bringing a topic to write about for 15 minutes. This week, John Werner (‘15) led the group, asking participants to journal about a vivid, specific moment they experienced during their week.
Then they delve into discussion.
“Once we go into discussion we’ll start talking about the prompt, and eventually we’ll be at this place where we diverge into other things,” member Ryan Castelaz (‘15) said.
Though journaling is generally used for personal writing, Nordquist decided to supplement his usual personal journaling with a type of social journaling. He realized that most of the time, he and his friends didn’t engage in intellectual conversations.
“A lot of the people we journal with are very busy, and we get so wrapped up in the week and caught up and running from place to place that a lot of times the conversation just remains very surface level,” Nordquist said. “I really wanted to journal with other people [because] I thought it’d be really interesting to see if someone had the opportunity to share something with other people, what they would choose to share.”

Katherine Mohr / Chips

Castelaz says it’s good for him and his friends to get into deeper discussions since their personality types lead more to joking around than to in-depth dialogue.
“Journal time is an intellectual, deep thing but it’s also really fun,” Castelaz said. “It’s a lot of fun to have some really good laughs, and also have some really good discussion, and it’s a really cool cross-blend of the two.”
Journal Time participants appreciate the personal growth it has fostered.
“When you have the opportunity to really have intelligent discussions with your peers, it’s valuable because it’s rare,” Carl Bates (‘15) said. “I think that it’s something that is missing in today’s society.”
For Castelaz, Journal Time has meant learning to open up in an accepting environment.
“[At Journal Time], people are going to listen to you, and maybe share their beliefs but by no means bash yours,” Castelaz said. “It really makes me more comfortable sharing what I have to say with more people.”

Katherine Mohr / Chips

Because of its dedicated informality, Nordquist and other participants decided not to try to make Journal Time an official organization on campus.
“A lot of [organization requirements] were incompatible with it, like having some sort of hierarchy, [and] you have to have your statement, and plans for the future,” Norquist said. “I think one of the coolest things about Journal Time is that almost every meeting is as spontaneous as the first one, and it varies so much every single time, that I think it’s hard to talk about the future.”
However, the group welcomes new participants to any of their meetings. Interested students can contact Nordquist nor Castelaz for more information.