I deleted social media, quit my job, sold everything and started journaling. And yeah, it changed my life. Not in a cliché "quit the 9-to-5, become a digital nomad" kind of way. More like: I hit a point where I looked at my life and thought... "What the hell am I even doing here?" Let me backtrack. I had the life that’s supposed to make you happy. Family. Friends. Good job. Decent salary. Brand new (german) car. Nice apartment with a backyard in the Austrian Alps. Even a second apartment that I rented out. Took some nice trips. All the stuff that should make a man feel “successful” at the age of 25. But I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t even sure who I was anymore. I wasn’t depressed, but I had this heavy feeling like I was drifting. I had achieved stuff, yeah, but not the things I once as a child *really* wanted. Not the things I cared about when I was younger. That kind of feeling doesn’t hit you overnight. It builds up slowly, and one day, you just wake up and feel completely paralyzed. That’s the moment when you realize: *I can’t do this alone anymore*. You need help. From others. And for me, that was hard to admit. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I had just come back from a trip to Frankfurt. The next day, I woke up with a massive headache, zero energy, and this strange, heavy feeling I couldn’t even describe. It pushed me to finally get help, from the outside. Something I always thought was for “weak” people. Not for me. But I was wrong. Asking for help takes strength. Way more than pretending you're fine when you're not. Over the next few months, I changed a lot in my life. I started cutting things out. First: deleted social media. That alone felt like detoxing my brain soo much. Some time later, I quit my good, secure, and well paid job. Then I sold everything. My car, my apartment, my furniture, and all the stuff I had. And moved to Croatia. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I started journaling. I just wrote down everything I didn’t understand, or thoughts that hit me like a “game changer.” No real structure or pressure to write. Just thoughts, feelings, ideas, confusion, whatever was on my mind. And holy sh*t, that changed everything. Not on day one, but slowly, over time, I started to see patterns. I realized that most of the fears I had weren’t even mine. They were just ideas I picked up from society. Stuff that, when you actually look at it, has no real worst-case outcome for me. I could finally see myself, see my patterns, reflect on what actually mattered. I know, it sounds like one of those “too good to be true” stories, but journaling gave me something I didn’t even realize I was missing: perspective. It reminded me of what Marcus Aurelius did. He didn’t write for others, he wrote to himself. (And no, I’m not comparing myself to Marcus Aurelius, don’t get me wrong, haha.) When you take a step back and look at life from the outside, you realize: there’s no Google Maps for this. No “you are here” marker telling you if you’re on the right path or just wasting time. But journaling became that for me. A kind of compass. And looking back at old entries is incredibly rewarding. You start to see the progress you’ve made over the years. How far you’ve come, even if it didn’t feel like it, day by day. Eventually, I started filling up notebook after notebook. That’s when I thought, what if I could combine this habit with some tech? I mean, I worked in data science. I know how to program. Why not build something that helps? Don’t get me wrong. I still love writing on paper (and always will). It’s special. That’s why the app I built lets you also scan handwritten entries. But I also wanted the benefits that digital tools offer. Things an analog journal simply can’t: - Entries that never get lost - Weekly summaries - Daily throwbacks to remind you of stuff you’d never go back and read otherwise - Smart search through your past - AI reflections (not to *write* for you, but to *ask questions*, suggest new perspectives, or summarize when your head's a mess) - Mind maps to untangle chaotic thoughts - And most important a clean interface, no confetti, no gamification 😪 Most journaling apps I tried felt like toys. Beautiful UIs, yes, but either they lacked privacy, were slow, or tried too hard to make it “fun.” I don’t want 20 emojis flying around every time I type "I'm feeling happy." I want control. I want speed. I want depth. And i want all the features i needed in one app. So I built **Dreavie**. It’s the journaling app I wish existed. And I use it daily. Like, several times a day. Every time I get a moment, I write. Or when I feel something intense I don’t understand. Or when I get an idea that feels too important to forget. There’s a saying in Croatian: > “Pametan piše, glup pamti.” > > > Translated: “Smart people write it down, dumb people remember.” > Harsh? Maybe. True? 100%. You can’t remember everything. You *shouldn’t* try. But you also shouldn’t lose all those great thoughts, ideas, emotions. So: write them down. Anyway. I could talk for years about this topic. But I’ll wrap it up here. If you’re curious to try Dreavie, it’s available on web and mobile. Free to use for journaling. The AI stuff needs a subscription, but there’s a free trial. Thanks for reading. And really, take care of your mental health. I love you guys. 😘 — Noah

@cakovalik Thanks for your comment! I really relate. Journaling had a huge impact on me too, and its why I started building Dreavie in the first place.

When I think about making journaling more accessible, it’s not just about giving people a place to write, it’s about creating something that actually helps them think. A lot of people don’t journal because they don’t know where to start, or they feel stuck in their own thoughts. That’s where I think AI can actually help. Not by giving answers, but by asking the right questions. Questions that challenge your thinking, show you a different angle, or help you see a pattern you didn’t notice before. For me, that combination, messy human thoughts and thoughtful prompts, is a gamechanger.

At the same time, it’s important that people still reflect on their own. Dreavie isn’t about replacing your thoughts, it’s about supporting your process. Helping you stay with it, even when it’s hard. That’s also why features like daily throwbacks are so important. Seeing what you wrote months or even years ago can shift your whole perspective. Most of what we experience, our thoughts, learnings, Moments, gets forgotten. But when it’s written down, it’s not lost. And reading it again later can be incredibly powerful.

So for me, making journaling more accessible means removing pressure, offering the right kind of support, and helping people stay connected to their own journey, in a way that feels real and useful.

Noah Soticek

Dreavie

Maker

📌

4d ago

Chris Kovalik

@nsoticek Journaling has changed the trajectory of my life and deeply related to the product I am also working on (albeit in a very different form). It's a habit I wish everyone in the world had. How are you thinking about making journaling more accessible for people?

2d ago

@nsoticek Bang on with the idea of asking people questions (pull vs. push).

cola wang

@nsoticek @cakovalik Exactly the product I need. It carries my memories and grows with me

Tim Sekiguchi

Excellent idea. To write is to think clearly. I just tried to download on the apple app store, but it said Dreavie was unavailable in my region (US). When can we expect a release for the state side folks?

1d ago

@tim_sekiguchi Thanks! We’ve been getting a lot of great feedback from the US, and we’re now focusing more on making Dreavie available there. We're aiming for a launch around Q3 and will keep you posted!

15h ago

Supa Liu

This journaling app strikes a great balance between the tactile feel of handwriting and the power of digital tools. With AI-driven reflections, summaries, and throwbacks, it really supports deeper thinking and meaningful self-discovery — all in one place.

3d ago

@supa_l Thanks a lot! So happy to hear its working well for you, that is exactly what we hoped for!

Dreavie

A journal that listens, reflects, and grows with you