Pre-journaling can be a useful exercise to complete at the start of your trip and help you gain important personal insights from your trip. [Dave Fox explains](https://www.globejotting.com/pre-journaling-post-journaling-and-re-journaling/) our lead-up of expectations: >By the time we leave on our adventure, we’ve spent weeks, months, maybe even years, dreaming and planning for our journey. When we travel to a new place, we bring along expectations of what it will be like. We have fantasized about the scenery, the food, the people we will meet. We’ve read about the sights we want to see, plotted how to get around, pictured our accommodations. > >Every time I travel to someplace new, I have a sensation — more than just an image in my mind — a feeling in my body as well — of what it will be like. That sensation is never accurate. When I arrive, I’m slapped with a reminder that when a place is foreign to us, it’s impossible to comprehend what it will be like before we get there. Pre-journaling is useful because it provides a starting point from which you can analyze personal growth gained during a trip. It's especially useful when your trip involves visiting foreign lands and different cultures, and it can also help us understand our reactions to a place once we're there. By comparing your actual experiences to those of your expectations, you can gain a better sense of the [[Journaling uncovers meaning|trip's personal meaning]] and more [[Reflection leads to self-discovery|insight into yourself]]. # The process The best way to get started is simply to ask yourself some questions: - Why did you want to do this trip? - What are you looking forward to? - What do you think it will be like? What will be similar, and what will be different? - What do you want to learn from the trip? - HOw do you think you'll be changed by the trip? - What are you anxious about? - How have you prepared for it? After the trip, simply review your pre-journaling during the [[§ 1.4 - Reflect|reflection phase]] for nuggets of insight. If you don't notice any, that's fine; sometimes the lessons won't present themselves [[Progressive journaling|until later]].