As a little girl, I would sit for hours practicing my handwriting. It needed to be perfect and I was obsessed. My mind was quick and I wanted to move on to the next thing, so it wasn’t that I couldn’t write neatly, I just didn’t have the patience. And my handwriting reflected that impatience.

But in 4th grade when one of my classmates got a better grade than me in penmanship, for some reason, I was inspired to change. I don’t remember why it was important to me? Perhaps it was my love of beautiful things? Penmanship, after all, is a means of communication but also an art form. Lynn, my classmate, wrote beautifully and she inspired me to slow down and pay attention. I was too young to comprehend this at the time, but on a subconscious level, I somehow grasped the importance of this moment. Slow down and “just be” in the moment.

Years later when I was studying architecture in college, I would sit for hours practicing lettering. This time though, it wasn’t for fun. Drafting was a required class. Practicing my lettering was part of the drafting curriculum and often times a homework assignment. Many late nights when it was just me, the drafting table and the warm task light as my companion, all of the letters stood erect like obedient soldiers on the the sheet. AAAA aaaa BBBB bbbb CCC ccc. Needless to say, my handwriting became impeccable. It’s been hardwired. It’s as much a part of me as my name or where I was born.

I take it for granted when I sit down and handwrite a letter, card or note. To this day, people take notice and compliment me. It’s part of how I express myself. Our handwriting is as unique as we are, almost like our fingerprints. There have been all kinds of studies that show the relationship between the handwritten note or letter vs one that is typed. Memory recall is boosted and concepts are easier to understand and retained as many psychological studies have shown.

As much as I appreciate and understand the science behind penmanship, I am still an artist at heart. Penmanship as an art form is appreciated by very few people, but one very famous person elevated it to a level that became part of our everyday digital world—Steve Jobs. He understood the importance, the artistry, and the symbolism of fonts as a form of communication. I appreciate that he was so passionate about this and he infused this passion in all that he created.

My hope is that we don’t lose our connection to pen and paper. Watching my own children (now young adults), rarely do I see them actually handwrite something. They are great at typing, but the connection to the writing instrument is not there. Handwriting gives us a peek into the soul of the human being. There is an energy that jumps off the page and you can gain a lot of insight into the personality. It’s part of the story of our humanity.