The Evolution of the Idea Journal

Hi everyone! Since we don't really have much material to work with these days given our current situation, we thought we would take some time this week to share a little bit of the history behind our beloved idea journal.

Allie and I have always been creative in coming up with what we now refer to as ideas. We like to dream up projects to do that are completely unnecessary. No one asked us or told us to do them, we just like to take the lead and do something fun. Even in middle school we were notorious for our "Brown Paper Bag Project". We bought a pack of brown paper bags and decorated them to fit the qualities and characteristics of each one of the students in our 8th grade math class. Some bags were decorated to look like the student it belonged to, some had poems written across the front, and others showcased our best artwork. Every single Monday Allie and I would lay these bags out on our classmates' desks and drop a little treat in them; sometimes candy or a handwritten note or a homemade coupon.

Another project we started back in middle school was the "Crewsie's Kindies". Our favorite teacher (the same teacher who taught the class we did the Brown Paper Bag Project in) was named Mrs. Crews. She helped us start a "kindness club" where Allie and I did good deeds around the school, made cards for the veterans and again at easter time, gave presentations to our classmates, and said prayers before tests and quizzes.

This picture was taken when the "Crewsies Kindies Club" took a trip to a local nursing home to deliver the Easter cards we made.

Even in elementary school Allie and I did stuff like this. Multiple "clubs" were founded by the two of us over the years. We put ourselves in charge of countless projects and ideas and initiatives since we became best friends in the fourth grade. We work so well together. Not only that, but I think the two of us would find it difficult to find anyone else to carry out these dumb ideas with except each other.

Anyway, all of that directly translates into who we are now and what we have created in high school. Writing our ideas down was a first and I'm so glad we decided to do it! We could have filled TONS of spiral bound notebooks by now if we would have started recording back in fourth grade! We'll have to keep dreaming to make up for lost time, I guess.

To close, I couldn't let the day go by without mentioning that today is Allie's 16th birthday! A little over a month ago we wrote in the idea journal that we'd celebrate with an elaborate picnic party with balloons and finger foods and a blanket on the ground and all our best friends. Needless to say, our celebration won't look like we had planned, but just like the history of the Idea Journal, it will evolve and adapt.

As always, stay safe and healthy and thanks for reading! Catch you next week.

-lauren&allie