Slow down, inhale, look internally, and consider if there’s a separation between you and your inner self. Do you talk with this inner self? Do you spend time with them? Writing Out Loud offers the act of journaling by hand as an intimate personal practice that allows for introspection, healing, and empowerment. This is presented through the investigation of the history and psychological science of journaling.   

Through handwriting, a person is allowed to express themselves in freeform and abstract, as opposed to the restrained nature of typewriting. Writing by hand allows for cognitive, kinesthetic, and neurological benefits that promote psychological and emotional health. By extending this practice into journaling, a person creates a platform where deep conversations with the self can unfold. Writing becomes a tool to empower and foster a sense of well-being, and within the confines of a diary, the book becomes a refuge, a comfort, and an exploratory space. Additionally, Writing Out Loud critically views humanity’s intimate relationship with journaling and elevates the medium while considering the practice as a distinctly human social practice.    

Writing Out Loud presents journaling as a method to nurture our relationships with our inner selves. By exposing the intimate form of journaling into the public eye, this installation encourages the audience to contemplate their relationship with themselves and what it means to routinely return to a space for self-introspection. Journaling fosters the space and time to slow down, reflect, and write. Writing Out Loud stands both as symbol for the practice of repeated monologuing and search for contentment.