Have any of you tried journaling before?

I've been filling notebooks for years. Probably first in high school as a means to try to make sense of my crazy life but sifting through the pieces to find cohesion was something that took me years. I think the process of writing in general is very interesting because we actually develop our thought through the process of writing itself - we may start out w an idea of what I want to say but the journey to the final statement is one of testing and trial and error (just as it was to write this). I think journaling can be very effective at helping us focus ourselves and find meaning we didn't know was there just by putting the thoughts out there- like therapy in a way.