journals + journeys: rosie aikens

The "Journals+Journeys" series features
Vagabroad diarists sharing their journey with journaling--
for your inspiration.

Oakland, California native Rosie Aikens lives in the
Arizona desert and works for a Fortune 100 company
by day and pursues her passion for healthcare at night.  
She also serves as a product advisor to JUSTPolishBox.com,
a boutique nail polish subscription service.

She is a live music fanatic who loves God,
her family and the pursuit of growth and transformation.  
She considers herself a caregiver, peace-bringer,
and tries to leave everyone she crosses paths with better.
Rosie is also passionate about supporting
black-owned businesses,
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUS),
home decor, and making DIY skincare products.
She loves the beauty of Vagaboard Journals
and obsessively collects them.

When did you start journaling?
I started journaling in like the fourth or fifth grade. I remember going to Payless (not the shoe store) it was like Target back in the day. I’d see the pretty pink diaries with the locks on them and I had to have one. I needed a place to put my thoughts down on paper even as a child.

What date did you start your Vagabroad Journal? My first entry in a Vagabroad Journal was December 9, 2015 and the first sentence I wrote was, ‘I love this new journal, it seems fitting to start my new journey with a new journal’.

Besides the obvious reason of self care, why do you keep a journal?
I want to document my life, I think it would be so cool to look back in 30+ years to reflect on the person I was, the life changes and growth, lessons learned, and battles won.

I wish I had my mother’s or my grandmother’s  journals, I’m actually not sure if they kept any, I’ll have to ask. A few years ago while going through family photos, I found a postcard that my grandmother
and my namesake’s brother had written to her from overseas in the war, it was amazing to read his writing from in 1930’s.

What’s are some of the greatest lessons you’ve learned from keeping a journal?

What time of the day is your ideal writing time?
I tend to journal at night because I like to go over my day.
I basically take an inventory:  was I kind, did I lie to anyone or myself,
what can I do to make tomorrow better? I also journal anytime the mood strikes,
sometimes I have to get things up and out.

Where do you usually write? Where is your favorite spot to write?
If I’m at home I’ll usually be sitting on my sofa with my feet up,
favorite spot in the world! If I’m away from home it’s usually
at my favorite coffee shop or sometimes in my car.

What are some songs on your journaling playlist?
Anything by Sade, Miles Davis or Robert Glasper

“…it’s just necessary for me to take some time even if it’s just 10 minutes a day to…check in with myself and see about myself…”

Many people have asked me to read
my journal to them (I say no).
How do you feel about sharing journal entries?

Rosie's Mantra Cahiers! (L-R): She Garden, "Until this is Over...", "Une Lettre", "Until this is Over...", "Journal x A New Name", and "Une Lettre"

You have quite a few VGB journals!  (Thank you!) What are the qualities
you look for in a journal when it’s time to get a new one?

How long does it usually take you to finish a journal?
It can take me years to finish a journal, I go through stages
where I feel like I need to change little things around me
and I’ll stop writing in one journal and pick up another.
I am currently going back and forth
between two Vagabroad journals.

Have you ever written a dream, vision, or desire and then it happens?
Yes! This actually happened recently.
Years ago, at least 5 or 6, I wrote in a journal that
I wanted to become a nurse. I started nursing school in January of 2017 and while I have a long way to go until I am actually a registered nurse,
I am on the path, taking each day as it comes,
doing the best I can. Another time when the vision
happened was a few years back when I lived in Atlanta. I journaled about how my next move was going to be out of state and that’s exactly what happened.

Do you have any tips on journaling pain?
Let it flow, I am in a constant state of healing from pain-- real and imagined.
When I journal about it I make an effort to speak directly
to the person who hurt me, I tell them exactly how I feel or felt,
what they could have done differently
and what I need them to do to help me heal.
Whatever I write down for them to do to help me heal is what I try to do for myself. 

What would you say to a fellow teastained woman who does not see value in keeping a journal?
Sister, write for you.  Putting things down on paper is so therapeutic. I think a lot of us are so quick to pick up the phone and call a girlfriend for advice or to vent but journaling allows you to go within. In my experience journaling and then re-reading what I wrote gives me a perspective I need. I believe we all have an inner voice that will guide us, I consider the inner voice inside of me a divine connection to God and if I get quiet long enough, if I write long enough, if I pray long enough, it becomes crystal clear.

Many women feel like journaling is a luxury they can’t afford because they have a 9-5, family, etc.  Can you speak to this woman?  How can we make time to journal when we lead busy lives?
Why is it worth it?

Would you ever write a book?
I actually really want to write a book, my sister is actually an author
and I don’t know if I have the kind of discipline needed
to finish a novel. I need to write about that.
But perhaps I’ll publish my journals one day!

What does “journey soulfully” mean to you?
Journey soulfully means be your authentic self.
It means represent for your culture, be proud, be weird,
do you (just don’t hurt anyone)!