The Pages Between Us

Real people. Real journals. Real lessons.

I spent the past week in Prince Edward Island writing alongside three remarkable women. Somewhere between quiet conversations, bookstores, and cups of coffee, an idea kept tugging at me.

I’ve always admired Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York and the way he reveals extraordinary stories through brief conversations with ordinary people. I began wondering what might happen if I asked strangers not about their lives in general, but about one very specific thing: their journals.

So I decided to try.

Armed with nothing more than curiosity and a simple question—“Would you have five minutes to tell me how you use your journal?”—I discovered that almost everyone has a story hidden between the pages.

This is the first conversation in a new Pen & Path series, The Pages Between Us.

Avelyn, Halifax, Nova Scotia

“I started bullet journaling in 2021,” Avelyn tells me, opening a journal that’s as much art as it is organization.

The pages are filled with colorful doodles, thoughtful layouts, and creative sketches, but they’re also deeply practical. Her journal helps her track finances, work through family challenges, and navigate life as a new parent.

Lately, she’s been using it to build more discipline. By tracking habits and routines, she’s discovered something unexpected.

“My journal helps me see the patterns I want to keep—and the ones I want to get rid of.”

As she turns the pages, I’m struck by how artistic they are. What she sees as everyday planning looks more like a sketchbook to me. Every page is different, reminding me that there isn’t one right way to keep a journal. There are as many ways to journal as there are people who write.

A Page to Take With You

Your journal can be more than a place to remember your life—it can become a mirror that helps you recognize the patterns worth keeping and the ones worth changing.

Your Turn:How do you use your journal? What lesson has it taught you? I’d love to hear your story.