I love the self-reflection that comes from writing in a journal. When I regularly write out my day, I end up finding things I appreciate about myself as well as things I need to improve on. I definitely believe writing and answering questions to get to know yourself better is a great self-care activity.
I end up saving diary prompts on pinterest here to give me ideas for blogging and diary writing. I thought I’d share some questions to get to know yourself that you can also use in a diary or blog. If you end up filling out the questions too, please tell me in the comments! I’d love to read yours.
QUESTIONS TO GET TO KNOW YOURSELF
25 diary prompt questions
The questions are below. Scroll down to see my answers to the questions + a pinnable image with the questions.
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
- What is your version of paradise?
- What are things you weren’t expecting in life?
- Would you live where you do now for the rest of your life?
- What are some of your greatest strengths?
- What personality test have you taken that you relate to the results the most?
- How did people describe you as a child?
- Where does your mind wander when you are doing something monotonous?
- What word would you pick to represent your goals for the year?
- What are 5 labels you’d pick for yourself and why are they important to you?
- What are your favorite books?
- What traits are important to you in a friend?
- What do you like to collect and why?
- What is the place in your home that feels the most yours?
- What is something you feel strongly about and why?
- What places are on your travel bucket list?
- What is something you have learned from your family?
- What is your favorite self care activity?
- What is one stereotype that people assume about you that isn’t true
- What are habits you are working on building?
- What is something you enjoy doing that you aren’t particularly good at?
- What is one of your favorite character traits?
- What advice would you give yourself 10 years ago?
- What is a goal you have for yourself that you’d like to accomplish?
- What is something you experienced that has been empowering?
MY ANSWERS TO 25 QUESTIONS TO GET TO KNOW YOURSELF
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?
I’ll be 41! I hope I have more children, am finished having children, and am loving my life in the future as I am now. It is really wild for me to think that I will likely have all of my children in school at this point too.
I hope to teach part-time ESL in the school system so I can have a little bit of autonomy for my hobbies, help us save money more aggressively, and have things ready for when our kiddos are home for school.
If me being a stay at home mom is better for our situation still, I hope the technical work I’ve been doing on my blog every night pays off in a better ad income; I would find some kind of ESL volunteering opportunity if I am not formally working.
I wrote about all of this more in detail a while back here.
WHAT IS YOUR VERSION OF PARADISE?
When I come home from something and walk in the door, I see Evie so excited to see me. I honestly wish I could bottle that up. That would be my version of paradise. If paradise has to be a location though, I really love it here and I’d say it is pretty close.
WHAT ARE THINGS YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING IN LIFE?
Never in a million years did I think I’d be living in northern Virginia, outside of DC. I never thought I’d love being a Mom so much. I never thought that Devin would find a job that allowed us to have a normal family life balance. … and a million other things!
WOULD YOU LIVE WHERE YOU DO NOW FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?
I’d really love to live the rest of my life here in northern Virginia. If we had to move, maybe Utah again. However, I really love the diversity, the seasons, and our accessibility to city and country here. We live in a town home that we love, but if we end up growing old here… we might want something that isn’t three stories.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GREATEST STRENGTHS?
I care about people, I love being creative and learning.
WHAT PERSONALITY TEST HAVE YOU TAKEN THAT YOU RELATE TO THE RESULTS THE MOST?
I like the enneagram the most. Although, I admit it is the most complex one I have ever taken. I’m a 4 countertype… or a 4 social preservation type. That type often looks like a 1 or a 7, I thought I might be a 7 for a while there. You can see my post about my enneagram journey here.
HOW DID PEOPLE DESCRIBE YOU AS A CHILD?
I was outgoing, inquisitive, loved animals, reading, and writing. Basically, when I’m at my best, I’m the same way still. One year, I dressed up as a library for career day at school. Another year, as a writer. I also told people I wanted to be a linguist for the FBI… great news, I have a masters in Linguistics and love teaching ESL. I think little Autumn would be proud of me. 🙂
WHERE DOES YOUR MIND WANDER WHEN YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING MONOTONOUS?
Usually to my little girl or things I am worried about. I am working on being more present.
WHAT WORD WOULD YOU PICK TO REPRESENT YOUR GOALS FOR THE YEAR?
I chose the word strength this year. However, I’ve chosen many different words in the past. You can see 50 word of the year ideas here.
WHAT ARE 5 LABELS YOU’D PICK FOR YOURSELF AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Mother, wife, follower of Christ, reader, and learner. The first three labels are very much the identity I chose to work on everyday. They’re what will make the biggest difference for me in the long run. The bottom two are what I believe I will take with me when I pass away, as well as my family identity. I didn’t mean for this to go so deep as a question, but here ya go!
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS?
I love retold fairy tales and memoirs!
WHAT TRAITS ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU IN A FRIEND?
I really enjoy spending time with people who can be authentic about their experiences and balance it out with fun. I’ve found the friends that I end up being closest too have interests different than mine which is fun to learn from.
My friends don’t have to be religious, but they are respectful of my beliefs. They don’t have to go to counseling, but they need to have no stigma on mental health care. They don’t need to be a parent of young child, but they need to understand my child’s nap schedule is important to what I can do during the day.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO COLLECT AND WHY?
I like plants that flower because they make me happy- putting them in a pretty pot is a bonus. I also like interesting vintage items with details for home decor because I enjoy the hunt. Let’s be honest too, I also collect cardigans. I will always love cardigans.
WHAT IS THE PLACE IN YOUR HOME THAT FEELS THE MOST YOURS?
I love our entry room. I have a fun gallery wall in there and it is the most decorated in our home. I also love our kitchen where that room flows into. So, I just love our main floor. 🙂
WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT AND WHY?
I think homes should be kid friendly and they should be able to roam them. Before we had Evie, I made a lot of intentional decisions to make our home accessible to a child. We have done some child proofing (chemical cabinets are locked, we have a toilet lock on our master bathrooms, baby gates at stairs), but if anything is at her level, it is something she can play with.
I think children don’t have a lot of autonomy over their lives and having a home that considers their needs helps them have more freedom.
WHAT PLACES ARE ON YOUR TRAVEL BUCKET LIST?
I would really like to go to Finland to visit my friend Selja and Marko. We’ve now seen them on three different vacations, and from the photos I’ve seen, Finland seems really beautiful. I’d also love to go to Iceland because it is a popular destination and it looks lovely!
WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM YOUR FAMILY?
My love for plants and animals!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SELF CARE ACTIVITY?
I actually really love getting rid of stuff in my house and reorganizing. I would have never said this before, but minimizing my things has really helped me feel differently about my home. I feel a lot of accomplishment when everything is in its spot.
WHAT IS ONE STEREOTYPE THAT PEOPLE ASSUME ABOUT YOU THAT ISN’T TRUE?
I think people sometimes assume that since I have made certain lifestyle choices for myself, and that I am religious, that I am judging their lifestyle. I haven’t drank, but I don’t have an issue being around people who drink responsibly. I was a virgin when I got married, but I realize that isn’t the norm.
The list keeps going, but I just hope people make decisions they are happy with. If they aren’t happy with those decisions, I hope they give themselves grace to choose other decisions.
WHAT HABITS ARE YOU WORKING ON BUILDING?
Reading scriptures, keeping our house picked up by working on things everyday, and making sure I read the Come Follow Me lessons every week for church.
WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU ENJOY DOING THAT YOU AREN’T PARTICULARLY GOOD AT?
I really enjoy playing piano. I’m an intermediate player, but I still love sitting down and playing. Maybe when our kids are in school, I’ll take lessons again.
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER TRAITS OF YOURSELF?
I can have a really good sense of humor sometimes.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF 10 YEARS AGO?
Life is going to be beautiful, hard, and so much better than you think. I talk about some of the things I learned in the last decade here.
WHAT IS A GOAL YOU HAVE FOR YOURSELF THAT YOU’D LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH?
I’d like to do a 100 day challenge. Right now, I started doing that with my curly girl hair method journey! I’m going to exclusively use curly girl approved hair products and style my hair in my natural curls.
WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU’VE EXPERIENCED THAT HAS BEEN EMPOWERING?
Moving here and making so many nice friends. I had had a lot of negative experiences making friends as an adult. However, I know that was an exception and a learning experience now.
