I like to say that I write in cursive because I am cultured. Even if it’s not easy to read, it is a wonderful feeling to feel like a founding father writing the constitution. There is no higher level of penmanship than this.
I had trashy handwriting for years. Though I had the advantage of speedwriting through class notes, reading my handwriting gave me migraines, and even I struggled to read what I sometimes wrote, forget all the others that attempted. Teachers had to adapt to my foreign letters and I slowly, but surely, developed a habit of never looking back at my handwritten notes. This is the part where most people point out that I can take notes on a laptop. First of all, I am not ready to bring my well cherished 15″ Macbook pro with touch bar to a school full of infidels. Some freshmen stole a senior’s car one morning earlier this month, so I do not doubt the vulnerability of my precious. Even then, I can not type at all, so keeping up with lectures is out of the question.
Surprisingly, it was not any of the above issues that convinced me to switch my handwriting; it was my tall Hollister friend who unintentionally hurtled me into the idea one day in class by showing off his cursive lettering. From there I practiced and practiced and practiced.
Above is a page from my planner. It is very messy, but it was my first attempt to figure out my cursive handwriting. I tried different angles, different lengths of tails, and landed on 45 slant, with short letters except for exaggerated tails. As an honorary mention, I hung it up on my wall.
In my bullet journal, between months, I drew on lines and continued to practice many pages over. Whenever I would watch something or listen to music, I would pull this out and write away the dialogue or lyrics.
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A Buzzfeed video inspired me to start documenting my days. I purchased a half off cat planner at Barnes and Nobles, and for the last few weeks, I have been documenting my life at the end of every day. How epic will it be at the end of College to have like four or five planners all written in cursive with my every day in it. So epic.
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My note game in class has totally changed. I still can’t read them, but they look too aesthetic to change. Plus, I’m about to graduate this semester in the top percent of my school, so how bad can my ”not using notes” system honestly be. My uncle Khan Academy got my back.
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In my cursive journey, I learned that expensive pens are no where near necessary. BIC Wal-Mart gel pens more than suffice. They are cheap, smooth, and I have absolutely no complaints. If I am offending the stationary junkies, I by far apologize.
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For that Founding Father flare, try a fountain pen. It did not take me long to figure out how it worked, and it was less than ten bucks at Hobby Lobby. Ink cartridges made it not messy and it dries terribly fast.
I feel like I should mention the nails. After a tattoo artist told me I’ve never lived, I started doing the things I never did, starting with a mani. The lady and my mom threw a fit after I asked for black but this ended up being the compromise. I look at this poop glitter with angst every time I glance down.
Cheers,
Novera.
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