Interview: Victoria / @vzkielb

Not too long ago, we received an interesting email from, Victoria, who sent us photos of her journals, detailing how she used it everyday, and that no two photos were the same!

Impressed, we responded to the email, excited to see more, and more we got! We are so happy to know that there's someone out there who loves our Planners as much as we do! 

Read on to read about what journaling brought into her life, the feeling of looking at past entries, and more:

Hi Victoria, we’re so excited to have you here! How about we kick-start the interview with a quick introduction?

Sure thing! I was born and raised in a Chinese/Polish house just north of Chicago and always considered myself to be more on the artistic side.

I’m currently an Economics and Data Science undergrad student at the University of Chicago, and I’m passionate about applying my analytical skills for social impact.

In my free time, I enjoy playing the piano, playing tennis with my friends, and drawing lots of fun illustrations on my iPad. I’m so excited for the opportunity to share my journal with you all!

Thank you so much for showing us your Undated Planner! We were impressed with the way you used it! Tell us, when and why did you start journaling?

I started journaling last year, the summer before my freshman year of college. I knew that I would undergo many new experiences—

Moving into a dorm, meeting new friends, taking challenging courses, dealing with a global pandemic (although I didn’t expect that one to happen).

So I wanted there to be a way to track each day and have the ability to look back at all the fond memories I’ve had.

When you started journaling, did you look up journal styles or did you develop this aesthetic on your own?

I drew a lot of inspiration from Pinterest as well as my explore page on Instagram.

After a few weeks of exploring a few different styles, I was able to develop my own type of aesthetic which shaped the way I wrote the remainder of my planner/journal.

Did you expect to experience the changes that journaling brought into your life?

To my surprise, journaling has completely changed my outlook on how I view the past and has been a huge help for my mental health.

Prior to writing in my journal, each day felt like a blur of random events and generalized feelings.

Once I started tracking each day, however, I realized how even the simplest of days can be nuanced and individual from others.

It’s also a really enjoyable, uplifting, and fulfilling process to sit down and look back at how my day went—it's a reminder for me to cherish each day.

Have you developed a routine when it comes to journaling?

I try my best to spend time writing in my journal right before I go to bed, which would usually take 15 minutes.

In the case that I’m super busy or tired, I’d wake up the next day and fill the prior day in. It’s difficult to get into the habit at times, but it’s all about patience.

How do you feel when you look at your past journal entries?

It’s such an amazing experience. When I flip to a random week and read some of my entries, I feel like I’m reliving that week. All my emotions and thoughts from that time spur in, and I’m able to picture certain scenes in my head.

It’s also super cool that I can now ask myself, “Hey, I wonder what I did on *this* random day…January 17th, 2020?” and have the ability to reply, “Oh, that’s right—I went to a restaurant downtown with my friends and studied for my Natural Hazards midterm!”

Since you have experienced the different layouts Mossery has to offer, could you tell us your impression of them?

This past year, I’ve been using the undated vertical weekly layout as my journal. I love the undated aspect because it lets me rip out a page here and there when I horribly mess up a drawing, and there’s no consequence since I can simply rewrite the dates.

I also prefer to write with smaller handwriting (the smaller, the more information I can fit in!) in my journal, which suits the vertical weekly layout.

I also tried basic line paper for journaling, but I found that I wasn’t able to compartmentalize my daily summaries and my weekly summaries in the same way my vertical layout planner was able to.

What do you think journaling offers that most things do not?

Journaling offers the ability to reflect on specific memories that otherwise wouldn’t have been remembered.

I’d personally consider my Snapchat Memories to be the second most closest form of a time-capsule of sorts—but even then, it’s pretty difficult to describe the mood of an entire day using just a few pictures.

With my journal, I can write a detailed summary of my day, funny jokes I encountered, stressors I faced…

I try my best to record obscure things that flow through my brain onto my journal (those are the best to read because if I never wrote them down, then I’m 100% sure that I wouldn’t have remembered them).

What would you tell someone who is interested in journaling but have not taken the leap?

As simple as it sounds, just try it out. There’s no harm in experimenting with journaling for a few days. Make a pact with yourself that you’ll spend X amount of time writing in your journal at XX:XX for an entire week.

If it doesn’t work out, then it’s all good since you didn’t really lose anything except some time for reflecting. Trust me, if you really stick with consistent journalling, then you’ll be so glad that you did.

Trivia question! What are you looking forward to planning for the upcoming year?

Since this school year will be my first time ever living in an apartment, I’m looking forward to writing down all the fun (indoor) adventures to come: cooking meals for myself.

Establishing an exercise routine (no promises that it’ll last though), having late-night conversations with my roommates, and undergoing the constant uncertainties of living in the middle of a global pandemic.

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You can follow Victoria on Instagram here and her VSCO gallery here.