World Book Day
World Book Day this year is on the 6th of March and offers a great opportunity to discuss journaling and a book that I think can greatly help military students to process their emotions and reflect on daily events. ‘Happy Confident Me’ by Annabel Rosenhead and Nadim Saad is a daily journal that encourages the owner/writer to build positive new habits.
Journal writing can be an incredibly beneficial practice for military students, offering a therapeutic outlet for navigating the unique challenges they face. As children of service members, they often experience frequent relocations, extended separations, and the uncertainty of military life. Journaling provides them with a safe space to express their emotions, process difficult experiences, and document their thoughts and memories. ‘Happy Confident Me’ offers a colourful, structured space for students to log their thoughts and feelings also providing space for doodling, sketching and/or making notes.
Journal keeping can help to build resilience by fostering self-reflection, promoting emotional awareness, and encouraging problem-solving skills. Additionally, journal writing can be a tool for maintaining a sense of stability and continuity, especially when moving to new places or adapting to changes in family dynamics. Ultimately, journaling empowers military students to understand their feelings, connect with their personal experiences, and develop coping strategies, supporting their emotional well-being in an often unpredictable environment.
In one of the Crofton DandeLIONs sessions this year, we will be exploring journaling and how we can express emotions and/or thoughts through doodling. Students will be given a page inspired by the book ‘Happy Confident Me’ and I look forward to gaining the views and opinions of our students on how effective journaling can be for them.
