Pencils

I haven’t used a pencil in years. At work, someone gave me two Easter pencils, so I sharpened them just to give them a test run. It brings me back to high school days when I used a pencil in every class. A pen was such a permanent thing, and when you are in calculus class or English class, you make quite a few mistakes, so a pencil makes sense. Anytime I used a pen, which was rare, it felt strange, like I was making finalized thoughts that couldn’t be altered. And any mistakes had to be crossed out, which drew attention to the mistake. It couldn’t be corrected with the swipe of an eraser. I remember there used to be pens that had erasers, but I just couldn’t get used to that. It felt so contradictory.

Then, in college, a pen became my choice writing instrument, and all my spiral notebooks became full of my permanent scratches, numbers, and notes. Whenever I had to use a pencil it felt strange like I had been transported back to high school.

Isn’t it funny how times change, and with that, your writing instruments?
What is your choice? Pen or pencil? Most people probably don’t care, and I bet most people don’t even write much by hand anymore. With computers and smart phones at our disposal everyday, the art of writing anything by hand is becoming a rarity.

I like pens, especially the pens with a fine tip for smooth and thin lettering. If the tip is too thick I feel that my handwriting is messy and less uniform. I love writing by hand. Typing is definitely faster, but nothing compares with a handwritten letter or journals full of your thoughts and stories. Sure, our computers create great ways for us to share stories and writing, but it will never replace writing by hand for me.