Journaling is an empowering tool. It provides you with a private space to organise your thoughts, work through your emotions, and reflect on the person you’re becoming amidst the hectic high school schedule of classes, clubs, friends, etc. So, here are 10 thought-provoking journaling prompts intended for high school students.
1. Who am I when no one is watching?
High school students put pressure on themselves to "perform" or fit into other groups, but when students write in a journal, they can peel back those masks. So describe a time you were completely alone,perhaps at home in your room late at night or solitary on a walk, then write about how you acted, thought, and felt. What hobbies or interests do you keep to yourself? How do you talk to yourself when you are alone? By unpacking their alone time, they can identify important values or passions underneath peer pressure.
2. What are my top 5 values, and how do they shape my choices?
Values guide how you handle friendships, schoolwork, and personal goals. To start, you could list values like "honesty", "imagination", "kindness", or "independence". Then look at each value and note a recent choice you made at school. Maybe you spoke up against rumors or spent extra time on an imaginative project. Think about how these choices might change as you grow up and become an adult. When students spot and think about their personal values, they can make smarter choices on purpose, like standing up for a friend or joining in activities that show who they are.
3. Describe a recent challenge you faced and how you overcame it.
High schoolers deal with a lot of tough stuff. They might have to work on a tricky group project, get into an argument with a buddy, or tackle the scary process of applying to college. These are just a few examples. Think about something hard you've gone through in the past month. It could be something personal, related to your friends, or about school. Write down the whole story in your journal. What were the first feelings you felt? Who did you remember talking to about the challenge, if anyone? What steps did you take to overcome that obstacle, and how did you feel as you began to do so? By answering these questions, high school students can learn to view difficulties as chances to grow stronger and more resourceful rather than as barriers.
4. What does success mean to me?
Too often, high school students measure their success by grades, college acceptance, and likes on social media. Use your journal to define your success for yourself. Write down adjectives or phrases that inspired you: "finding balance", "being true to myself", "being a great friend", "trying my best". Think of a time when you felt truly successful - it may be when you studied with your brother or sister for their test, accomplished that passion project you started, or you were just calm during a stressful day. For that moment in time, how did that feel different from a grade point average? When you develop a personal definition of success through journaling, young adults can make goals that feel real as opposed to loosely pursuing acceptance.
5. Write a letter to your future self ten years from now.
Picture yourself at 28, reflecting on your experiences from high school. What do you think your living situation will be? What career or hobbies might you have developed? In your journal or on your computer, start writing, "Dear future me," (or something else), and begin to describe your current hopes, dreams, fears, and wishes as a high school student. Include some questions: "Have I gotten to travel as much as I wanted?", "Did I conquer my fear of speaking in public?", "Am I still friends with my best friends?" By expressing these feelings and inquiries, the hope is that teens can create an image or roadmap of their hopes and intentions. In a couple of years, when you look back and read your letter, you and the teen will be surprised by their growth and who they were. The letter can also serve as a reminder of what really mattered to them as a high school student.
6. What are three things I appreciate about myself today?
Being a high school student can pose a problem with self-doubt, as you may find yourself comparing clothing, test scores, or perceived social capital. Instead of comparing and taking notes about all the ways you think you fall short, dedicate your next journal entry to celebrate you. Expand beyond "I am good at math" and "I have nice hair." You may have shown kindness by sitting with someone alone at lunch, or you may have demonstrated resilience by setting your alarm for 5AM to study for a big test. Write about these strengths with as much detail as you have. What did it feel like to be kind, and why was it important to you? How did your discipline allow you to succeed last week? Respectfully dedicating space in a student's journal to self-appreciation is building self-esteem for teens, helping them know that they bring distinctive strengths and qualities to the high school community!
7. Reflect on a time you felt proud of yourself. What contributed to that feeling?
Remember a time, big or small, when you felt like you were on top of the world. You might have given a presentation in front of the class, stood up to a bully for someone, or finished your own art project. In your journal, write about that scene again: where you were, who was there, and what you were thinking. Pay close attention to what you did, the choices you made, or the way you thought that made you feel proud. What did your friends and family say to you? Teens can start to see patterns in their behaviours or values that can help them feel powerful by remembering these times. Teens can learn what kinds of activities or places help them do well by writing.
8. What are my strengths, and how can I leverage them in daily life?
Take a moment to write down three to five of your talents or strengths—are you a good listener, are you detail-oriented, are you a creative writer, or an athlete? For each strength, write a short paragraph explaining how this currently shows up in your high school life. Does being a good listener influence how you are supporting a friend who is struggling? Are you sharing your creative talent through thoughtful ideas during group work? After contemplating their strengths in the context of high school, you can also brainstorm ways you can intentionally increase the use of these strengths: start a peer mentorship program, write for the school newspaper, or volunteer for a committee/clubs' leadership position. This journaling exercise is meant to help high schoolers understand how the talents they were born with manifest in ways that positively impact their high school experience and to that of others.
9. Describe a belief you once held strongly but have since reconsidered. What led to this change?
High school is a time for continuous learning and changing of perspective. Describe a belief you had last year- it could be related to politics or just a preference- that you now believe entirely different about. In your journal entries, describe what you believed, why you believed it, and where your beliefs changed. Perhaps, your mind started to shift in your opinion after a conversation with a peer, reading a new book, or experiencing a cultural event. What did you initially feel like when your opinion began to change? What was it like to accept you were wrong? In exploring this prompt, teens in high school often find opportunities in journaling to recognize that opinion can shift - and that this is a part of growing up- and will begin to make them more adaptable and open-minded.
10. What activities or hobbies make me lose track of time, and what does that say about my passions?
Think about times in your high school career when you got so engaged in an experience (drawing, coding, sports, reading, or playing an instrument) that hours passed in an instant. Think about the last time you experienced this "flow" state: Where were you? What were you doing? How did your body feel? Then ask yourself, why did this activity get you so engaged? Was it the creative challenge, the thrill of the physical effort, or the enjoyment of being with others? By writing about these passions, high schoolers can pinpoint "possible career paths" or options for extracurriculars, both connected to something they really love. Understanding what truly engages you can help you make choices, whether it is to choose an elective in the next semester or what direction to take after graduation.
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