This Private Journal Belongs to Branch (Me)

If found, please return it immediately (This means you, Cloud Guy! And if you dare read it, you will sound the alarm inside my journal and I'll have to take it from you immediately.)

Expectation of What I Am Like:

Reality of What I am REALLY Like:

My name is Branch. And I am a Troll. (Sounds familiar, huh?)

The one thing about me is that I am like a safe box that will never open for anyone, even if it is my own emotions and feelings. With this situation, Poppy brought me this journal last night, which I can't believe that I'm writing in it at the moment. So, how did I end up writing in this journal?

Let's flashback to last night at 8 pm.

https://youtu.be/SuUvPZDA25o

So...we were having our usual dinner date, planning to exchange gifts to one another. I bought her a sticker kit, where she can use it for her scrapbooks. As expected, Poppy loved them, hugging and squeezing me a whole lot. When it was her turn to give me her gift, I was excited, holding a flat object in my hand, which was wrapped in blue paper with a teal, glittery bow on top of it. At first, I thought it was a guidebook. I LOVE guidebooks. I ripped off the paper to reveal the gift...

Surprise, surprise! It wasn't a guidebook, but a journal. I thanked her, but then asked her what would I use this journal for, which she told me that it would be helpful for me to write down my thoughts, feelings, and emotions since I struggle to do those things (except for expressing my thoughts, which I excel at) in front of anyone, including her. Shocker. At first, I didn't like that idea at all, but also tried my best not to hurt my girlfriend's feelings. After all, she did buy me a nice gift. Why would I decline a gift like that?

For a moment, it looked like as if Poppy could tell how I was feeling about the gift because the next thing came when she told me that she was willing to take it back and buy me a new gift, but I refused to let her do that. I thanked her again, giving her a hug. But that didn't stop her from trying to figure out how I was really feeling about the gift. She confronted me. After two minutes of denial,  I told her about the dilemma of me writing in a journal daily being a bit of a challenge. So, that's when she challenged me to write in this journal for a week to see if it would be helpful for me. It sounds horrendous to me because I'm not ready to go deep into writing about my emotions and feelings yet. Yes, I finally embraced my inner Troll and adjusted to Troll society, but I still value privacy to the extreme. I mean, what if someone finds my journal and reads it?

I have no idea what else to write about...oh, no. This is what it was like when I wrote in my old journal. Old journal? Yes, I do have one, but I never consistently wrote in it, but who knows, if I stay consistent in writing this journal. I will try. I'm ending this entry with the following: My main goal is to write in my second journal daily. Maybe it will help me open up somehow. I'm not promising because I fear writing about anything deep and personal in my journal. I will write my very first prompt for this journal today.

Moral lesson of today (or pretty much yesterday): Be thankful for the gift you have been received, especially when it's from your girlfriend. Thanks again for the gift, Poppy!

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10:02 pm

I was concerned about answering this prompt because, as I wrote earlier, I don't want to write too much about my feelings. While at the same time, I want to be honest because that's one of the main things about keeping a journal. So, here is my answer to the following journaling prompt:

Journaling Prompt #1: Where is your Happy Place? How does it make you feel? Why?

My happy place will have to be my bunker. Why? Because it makes me feel comfortable and safe there, especially when I want to get away from everyone for a while. It also gives me lots of privacy to just be me or to get a lot of things done around the bunker, including my chores. I can think, feel, eat, and sleep by myself. Okay, I don't mind Poppy visiting me, but I need my alone time. Everyone needs space sometimes, am I right? I dislike being around other Trolls too much because it will drive me up the wall. So, being in my bunker is a must.

I had a long day today. I did some of my chores, and Poppy called me about my journaling progress, which I told her that it went alright...for now. I don't know how I feel about  writing in my journal in the morning and at night. Probably will get the hang of it soon. So, today is Day 1, and let's wait and see how Day 2 will go with daily journaling. Got to get ready for bed. Goodnight!