PC Verus Pen

My beloved companion who has been by my side through thick and thin, sickness and in health, in good times and bad has decided to part ways with me for good. I’m speaking of my desktop computer which I’ve had for roughly about eleven years now. I give credit to the machine for having lasted this long. It has been giving me hints it was about to leave me for the last few years, but this weekend was its final attempt at keeping me company. So as I sat at home last night staring into the lifeless monitor, I decided to take out some paper and an actual pen to jot down some thoughts. Within minutes this task became increasingly difficult. It’s not so much that I couldn’t think of what to write; the ideas were there ready to be poured onto the paper. I was just having trouble keeping them flowing slow enough for my hand to keep up. When typing I can almost have a conversation within myself. I think of something, it immediately gets printed onto the screen, and then I can move on. By writing out each letter I have to slow the stream of thoughts down and actually make sure I’m spelling words correctly. I thought to myself: this can't be good.

What’s even more frightening is the realization of how I couldn’t even read half of what I wrote. My penmanship has taken a massive blow from lack of actual writing through the years.  I do make out an occasional grocery list and sign my checks of course, but that doesn’t come close to the amount of pen to paper activity that used to take place back in my school days. It saddened me to see how far we’ve come as a technologically ruled society, yet how spoiled in the process. The average writer used to painstakingly take their time to compose a letter to a loved one or to their employer or to create a speech. Today we are at advantage by readily having access to a computer or iPad or phone to whip out an email in one minute. But at what cost? What do we learn by having the machine tell us how to spell or give us ideas when stumped for a good word by adding it’s own synonym? Or even worse we write out a text full of abbreviations and acronyms. It’s no wonder most schools are considering (if they haven’t already) doing away with script writing. Is penmanship even a word used commonly today? Do they send little love notes to each other in grade school anymore? Or is it all through the web further cementing the detached impersonal feeling which has taken over social communication? Are the days of pen pals gone for good?

Sadly there’s little to stop the way most respond to each other from a great distance. While it would be splendid to receive a hand written letter from a friend it’s highly unlikely to happen as we pack our days with more activities than ever before. As someone who enjoys writing, I do feel I have greatly neglected carrying a pencil or pen and simply scribbling a thought onto a piece of paper or napkin when the mood strikes. Isn’t that half the creative process right there? To be inspired in the moment and get it onto paper before it’s absorbed by some other pressing matter. I think it also largely contributes to the destruction of well written songs and films. Listen to the music out there, folks! It’s repetitive, unoriginal, and irritating. If most can’t take the time to write a letter then forget about actual lyrics. It’s not true of every artist, but it’s on the rise.

Now, as I leave work and my job computer behind I have to face another daunting night of having nowhere to type. I will try and prove my theory wrong and actually compose a blog on paper. It might help if I pick up a dictionary on the way home.