Today I had the honor of participating in a discussion about Journaling at the Forest Hills Country Club. Hosted by the Rockford Network of Professional Women and facilitated by Kelly Epperson Simmons, I was part of an impressive panel that included guests Melanie Perry and Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli.

This experience in one word? WOW.

Now, there are any number of ways I could illustrate that word in a journal.
Personally, I prefer mixed media including paper, paint, and dimension. I envision the three letters exploding off the page. Layers, angles, scale. And color. Lots of color.

Following the event, my head was swirling, my heart was bursting, and my aura was pulsating with ideas, energy, and excitement. On the drive home, I had to turn off my audio book because the reader couldn’t compete with the voices in my head.

Even with the commute, time to decompress, I’m having a hard time organizing my thoughts…
I’ve decided to break it down into the rule of five, but I may be forced to revisit this subject again. Like when I complete the WOW journal page. 🙂

Top 5 Things I Learned from the Journaling Panel 

1. The Rockford Network of Professional Women is an amazing group. Intelligent, creative, hard-working, and kind, I was overwhelmed by their verve. I don’t know how this is my first introduction to the group, but I sure am thankful for having met them.
2. Journaling, whether you consider it old-school diary keeping or art therapy, is a way for everyone to emote, reflect, and create. Doodles in the margin that help diffuse a frustrating phone call, letters to the self you wish to be, or graphically illustrating words and pictures that reveal solutions to some of life’s issues–these are all constructive ways to deal with what you’re feeling or focus on what you hope to feel. There are no rules; journaling is truly a go-with-your-gut avenue of expression.
3. Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli has published an informational and beautifully illustrated book titled Art Journal your Archetype. I appreciated listening to her discuss visual communication as it applied to her own personal journey through education, experience, and art.
4. Melanie Perry is a leadership coach, working on her first book, who focuses on practical and proactive strategies for attaining goals. Her commitment to being true to her personal and professional objectives through journaling was inspiring.
5. Lastly, I learned that I have knowledge to share, too. I’d like to thank Kelly Epperson Simmons for trusting me to be part of this engaging opportunity. Researching the ladies on the panel made me feel as if I was the “before” photo in an “after” ad. But once we got into sharing, I realized I have a variety of expertise and insight, as well.

It was a pleasurable experience. The venue, the food, the people–everything was wonderful. I hope my contributions helped encourage those in attendance. I look forward to meeting them again…perhaps as a member!

Bonus 6. According to spellcheck, “journaling” is not a word.