Date of Completion
Spring 5-31-2019
Document Type
Open Access Capstone
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
First Advisor
Bobby Ricketts
Second Advisor
Peter J. Taylor
Abstract
The Critical and Creative Thinking synthesis course provided an opportunity for me to begin a process of self-transformation, using all that I had learned in the program about metacognition, reflective practice, and creativity to inspire goals for my personal growth. As part of my work in the synthesis course, I rediscovered a consistent practice of self-reflective journaling that I had abandoned some years ago and used my synthesis paper to document my process in hopes that others may learn from it and perhaps be inspired to take on a self-reflective journaling practice of their own. As my paper reveals through excerpts of my journal writing and creative writing, journaling has been a way for me to understand the source of my creative resistance, confront that source, and work through it to begin writing poetry again. I demonstrate how self-reflective writing allowed me to distance myself enough from my experiences to channel them into creative flow. I conclude my paper by exploring future pathways: as I move beyond the course, I will continue journaling as a lifelong practice and share the experience with others by facilitating a creative writing group in which members take on a self-reflective journaling practice alongside their creative work. My hope is that others may discover, as I have, the potential journaling holds as a tool for creative thriving and movement toward our ideal selves.
Recommended Citation
Moses, Courtney, "Self-reflective Journaling: A Practice for Achieving Self-Understanding and Acceptance, Overcoming Creative Resistance, and Moving Toward Ideal Self" (2019). Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection. 375.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cct_capstone/375