The Me I See, 2nd Edition

“Journaling is a powerful reflection tool that helps individuals solidify and understand their thoughts and work through their personal feelings and reactions to the world around them. It stimulates creativity and gives the participants a tangible memoir of their experience and growth. The Me I See aims to provide an engaging and easy-to-use tool that will encourage these moments of self-reflection and a basic foundation whereby adolescents will recognize and come to value their own personal power, wisdom, and insight. It is meant not only to be a guide but also an inspiration to engage learners in the lifelong practice of journaling.”

The Me I See is a simple, thorough collection of journaling prompts placed in an accessible workbook template. The pages are full of thought-provoking prompts in an inviting format with a sense of whimsy and fun that is far less intimidating than the blank page. These pages are conveniently reproducible and can be used alone or combined with photos and artwork to make writing fun, creative, and engaging.

The book is organized by subject, starting with “the me I see” and progressing through subjects such as “values,” “past,” “family,” and “social.” Each subject area starts with lighter, easier-to-process prompts followed by more challenging ones. Choose the prompts that are appropriate for your class, group, or individual.

The Me I See was designed to be used by educators, counselors, and therapists as a tool to help adolescents express themselves, reflect on their thoughts, feelings, and motivations, and explore the issues that shape their lives. The journaling exercises will help them learn about who they are as individuals. The exercises will give them some insights to cope with the stressors of being an adolescent and to interact positively with the world around them.

Educators will find The Me I See useful for engaging students in all kinds of classroom situations—from exploring issues and topics in health class, social curriculum, and peer leadership programs to English or Civics class. Therapists will find this tool valuable for helping adolescent clients work through their thoughts and emotions as they explore the cathartic aspect of journaling. The Me I See can also be the perfect supplement to group therapy sessions by providing opportunities for adolescents to engage in structured time alone, to reflect and process. This time away from the group balances and supports the group process. Individuals can reflect on topics that might not have come up during group discussion and explore thoughts they might not verbalize in a group setting. Table of Contents

Facilitation Notes - Things for the Journal Writer to Consider
Chapter 1: The Me I See - personal insights, feelings, and motives
Chapter 2: Values - identifying, clarifying, and understanding beliefs
Chapter 3: Views - observations on the world around me
Chapter 4: Family - family history, development, experiences, and influences
Chapter 5: School - educational pursuits and experiences
Chapter 6: Social - relationships, peer interaction, and community
Chapter 7: Past - personal history and prior experiences
Chapter 8: Present - existing thoughts, feelings, and experiences
Chapter 9: Future - goals, hopes, plans, dreams, and possibilities
Chapter 10: Lists - brainstorming, considering all the possibilities, prioritizing, and reminders
Make It Personal—blank pages and more questions
Quote Prompts—inspirational words to spark reflective writing
Additional Prompts—by subject
Resources
Excerpt

Things for the Journal Writer to Consider

Everyone has a story. Our life stories help us understand where we are now and help lead us to the paths we might choose in the future. This book is designed to be a place to tell your story by exploring your thoughts, emotions, views of the world around you, and future goals and dreams. Make this book work for you. As you answer the questions take your time, find a quiet space, and enjoy the process of focusing just on you and your thoughts. Be honest and true to yourself, your beliefs, opinions, and goals.

Challenge yourself to respond to the difficult prompts and go a little deeper on the topics you can answer easily. Recording your thoughts and reflecting on your experiences and what is important to you will help you tap into your own personal power and wisdom. It will help you understand and reinforce your strengths and identify areas you might need to work on. The practice of reflective writing will help you define and focus on what you want in life. Look at this as a gift to yourself—a lasting record of your personal growth and change.

Be creative in approaching these pages, and throw in some personality. Record your thoughts with words, drawings, pictures from magazines, photographs, or other artwork.

You are the author: • If a prompt in The Me I See doesn’t fit you, change it to fit your life experiences. • If you find a topic difficult to write about, give it some time and come back to it later. If you are still stuck, ask for some input from someone close to you. • Make up your own prompts. There are blank pages in the back of the book for you to fill in any way that suits you.

Enjoy telling your story, revisiting your past, and exploring the places the future might take you...

 

ISBN: 978-1-885473-74-5, SIZE: 8.5 x 11, PAGE COUNT: 192