Self-portraits, doodles of WuShock, sketches of goldfish and a poll of whose music is better: Kendrick Lamar’s or Drake’s. These are just some of the scribbles, tracings and drawings that can be found inside the pale pink Leuchtturm 1917 journal on display in the basement of the Shocker Store.
The sample journal holds more than two years’ worth of signatures and illustrations left behind by visiting campus groups, students and Shocker Store shoppers.
“There’s just been some really cute stuff in here,” Course Materials Manager Lisa Fitzsimmons said.
Fitzsimmons said the idea to feature a display journal was given to her the same year the store began stocking the Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks. She was attending the International College Bookstore Association conference in 2022 and was paired up with course material employees from other colleges when one of them offhandedly mentioned how popular the brand’s notebooks are for journaling.
“So I met a couple gals … but they were going on and on about the journals. And, of course, some of the vendors, they were all talking about … ‘You know, kids love these to journal.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, stupid question, but what the heck is journaling?’” Fitzsimmons said.
Fitzsimmons took it upon herself to look up the subject, watching several hours of journaling videos, guides and tutorials on YouTube. Quickly, she said she began to see the value in journaling — and in stocking quality journals to do the job.
“I’m like, ‘Okay, I get it now. Now I think I see where it’s coming from’ … and a lot of them really get into it with different colored pens and markers and just, you know, all kinds of stuff,” Fitzsimmons said. “I think their main purpose is to help a lot with mental health. So hopefully, if that helps somebody, then I guess we did our job.”
Fitzsimmons said the Shocker Store had never offered anything along those lines before, and she was excited to bring the advice and newfound knowledge back to Wichita State. But it was a friend of hers, an employee with Missouri State University at the conference, who suggested that she invest in the Leuchtturm 1917 and leave a sample for students to use.
“She said, ‘Put it out there, just so they can see what it’s like. Let the kids mark in it,’” Fitzsimmons said.
Fitzsimmons started with a small order, only a few dozen journals, and said they sold well. After investing in a few different color varieties, Fitzsimmons said, they started flying off the shelves.
Now, she makes two big orders a year, one at the beginning of each semester, of between 50 to 75 multicolored, lined, gridded and dotted journals.
Since setting out the first journal in 2023, it’s filled about halfway. Fitzsimmons said once it fills up, she’ll definitely put out another one. She’ll keep the completed one around for other potential journal-ers to page through while they shop for what may be their next mental health help tool, or just a means of expression.
“And it’s just, you know, just a way for people to express themselves, their thoughts, their feelings, whatever it may be, in whatever form, either writing or drawing pictures,” Fitzsimmons said. “ … If it helps somebody to kind of, you know, work through their thoughts, or work through, you know, whatever it may be issues or something like that, then that’s their purpose.”
