nn

Callie Gesmundo doesn’t want her thoughts plastered all across the Internet – unless her friends are reading it. Then it’s not so bad.

For college students, journal writing isn’t just about penning thoughts into a Hello Kitty notebook anymore.

Now, she and her friends have their own version of a community Web blog that they’ve been updating for more than a year: a message thread on Facebook.com.

“It’s gotten so big, Facebook had to cut us off,” she said. “We’re on our third thread because there’s so many messages.”

Gesmundo said journal writing or blogging is better when the writing is read by close friends.

Depending on the individual, finding a time and place to write down your thoughts can help alleviate stress, said Jonathan Kermiet, an educator at Olin Health Center.

“Sometimes, by writing it down, you see that the situation is not so bad,” Kermiet said.

Because a personal journal is usually only seen by its owner, Kermiet said, finding the time to write is what’s most important.

“You don’t have to be a poet,” he said. “But give yourself a license to do it before the stress gets too bad.”

Finding a time to write in a journal regularly can be more beneficial than doing it once in a while, Kermiet said.

At MSU Safe Place, a domestic violence shelter for MSU students and faculty, participants are encouraged to write in journals to help control traumatic stress, said Erica Schmittdiel, the shelter’s advocacy coordinator.

“If some people are not comfortable going to a counselor, journaling can be very therapeutic,” Schmittdiel said. “They can see things more clearly when it’s written on paper.”

Journal writing can be especially helpful when it comes to weighing options, Schmittdiel said.

“When you’re thinking about it, there’s a million different thoughts in your head,” she said. “But when you’re actually writing it down, it helps you to organize and make a decision because of these reasons.”

Support group facilitators within MSU Safe Place will encourage participants to write down their thoughts and feelings and then discuss them the next time the group is together, Schmittdiel said.

As with any other stress-reliever, the issue with finding time to write in a journal is lack of free time, pre-law sophomore Mary Wood said.

“It would surprise me if a lot of college students still used an actual journal,” Wood said. “Everyone’s so busy – it’s just finding the time to do it.”