Handwriting on its way to becoming extinct

Valeria Vesco

There is something really special about a pack of new writing utensils. The pens are full of ink, the pencils just freshly sharpened. When you buy a notebook, the paper is in mint condition, ready to hold all your thoughts. All it takes is the desire to let your utensil flow smoothly on the clean white paper.

Forms of handwriting have been around since the beginning of time. It’s how we communicate, educate, and progress on to be better people. However, due to the major advancement of technology, we are slowly losing the art of paper and pen.

Today’s youth barely learn cursive in schools. Because of this, many can’t read or write it. In modern times, cursive is not seen as a necessary thing. However, I believe cursive is essential to understanding our past and our calligraphic history. Some of the most important documents in history that shaped us to be who we are today are written in cursive. My parents and grandmother both write in cursive a majority of the time. Even though I can read my parents’ writing, I have a harder time reading my grandmother’s because I never formally learned cursive.

Some people don’t see this as a problem. I think that is heartbreaking. I struggle with reading my own grandmother’s handwriting. My grandmother means so much to me, and yet I don’t have that full connection with her because her handwriting is too archaic for me to read. Many elders write only in cursive. It is so sad that something so graceful looking is turning into a modern hieroglyphic.

Many people truly don’t understand the benefits handwriting has. Lizzette Borreli of Medical Daily wrote about an experiment between college students who took notes on laptops vs. long hand notes. Here’s what they found: “The results of the two experiments suggest that taking notes with a pen and paper, rather than a laptop, leads to higher quality learning, as writing is a better strategy to store and internalize ideas in the long haul. Writing by hand strengthens the learning process, while typing can impair it.” Compared to other note taking techniques, handwriting is more valuable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be worth the effort because everyone rushes to get things done.

Although we have fonts on our keyboards, everyone has their own font: handwriting. Some people are lefties, and some are righties. Some people have the clearest handwriting, while others write like they’re still learning how to write. However, that is totally okay. Handwriting is an art form. If everyone conformed, put their pens down and switched over to keyboards, everyone would be the same. Just because we are advancing into the future, does not mean we should leave the art of penmanship behind. Make your mark on the world by leaving your mark on the page.

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