I have been a fan of keeping a sketchbook for a long time and I even wrote about how it helps me remember things more.

But only have I recently discovered the joy a sketchbook can truly bring.

First of all, it needed to be the right sketchbook. If it’s too heavy, I won’t carry it. It needed to be lightweight and easy to use in everyday life. My friend gifted me the perfect one for my birthday last year. At some point, I started taking it everywhere with me, even on nights out. I am amused how only a couple of beer spills have happened instead of having its pages flooded by someone accidentally knocking over a whole bottle of booze.

Documenting museum visits, random encounters, and nights out, new people and unexpected thoughts all captured my life better than any camera could.

Leafing through its pages, I feel all the crazy emotions I had felt at any given time and it makes me remember how life was pre COVID-19.

Sure, reminiscing about it is also nostalgia in its purest form. But it is also a way to cope and hope that, soon, things will get better again.