BUJO

Its all started from a random conversation between my sisters during the pandemic. Where my sister would say something like ‘I spent hundreds for my ‘Bujo’ stuff’ or ‘once the travel restriction is lifted, lets go to those Bujo shops around’. So I asked her what is this ‘Bujo’ that she was telling us off. And she simply said, ‘Bullet Journal’. With the pandemic happened, its really interesting how so many things were created, and trended all for the many reasons. Mostly is to kill time and maintaining owns mental health.

              Here I thought there was only a simple ‘Journaling’, where discussions, studies, findings or own thoughts are put together in a book. Turns out there are many types of journaling out there, even artworks, organizers and diaries were included. And ‘Bullet Journaling’ is from my point of view, a scrapbook of things, thoughts, experience, planning or goals to achieve. Asking her a picture of her ‘Bujo Journal book’, it was a page full of cute stickers, writings, pictures, receipts, schedules, colored papers and even tapes with all sort of designs on it.

              What are the tools, items used for this ‘Bujo’. All you need is just a plain, empty notebook, stationaries, colored pens, cute stickers, numerous designs of washi tapes, colored papers, fine liners, highlighters and so much more. Sky’s the limit, technically anything can be used for this type of journaling, including polaroid pictures, shopping receipts, even a scrap of newspaper article.

              ‘Why Bujo?’ I asked. Other than to fill the time, ‘it was simply for the aesthetics of doing it and having fun with it’ she replied. ‘Not just that!’ she continues. ‘It also helps as a reminder to achieving goals, a tracking of the past if there should be an obstacle that we just can’t deal with, and, a stress reliver, a venting mechanism when there is just something you just cant share with others’. Seems to me, it could be an alternative tool to vent it out. It may not be a sentence, but a quote, or lyrics or even a painting.

              Being honest, she said that even though she wrote down all her goals and plannings, she didn’t really follow it all, nor achieve it. As mentioned earlier, the ‘Bujo’ can be a reminder, she did once a while, looking back and seeing the goal written prior and only then decide to try and achieve it. Which she did, some of it. Or that time when she saw one of the entry of her thoughts and simply said, ‘wow, I am a fool for this!’ and just laugh it off.

              Understanding this whole journey of ‘Bujo’ or ‘Bullet Journaling’ from my sisters, makes me realize that Journaling can be fun. It doesn’t really have to be all factual and strict essay writing, it can also be crafty, colorful, empowering and healing too.