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Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Handwriting woes

It started in 5th Standard. My classmate was asked to read out an essay I had written - she stumbled so many times in deciphering my scribble that I had to finally do the reading.

The problem got worse when this incident percolated to home. My elder brother, father and people around me had lovely handwritings, and I was chided for my messy work. 

I am someone who had to work on her handwriting afresh. I copied styles from people whose handwritings I liked, and evolved one of my own. So if you are someone who tries to decipher personality traits from lettering styles, I am perhaps not the correct choice to try your skills on.

Another milestone in the history of my handwriting is when a firecracker burst in my right hand, injuring my thumb, index and middle fingers. The hitch was that I had examinations from the following week, and I had to spend time trying to write with my left hand, instead of studying. However, three days after serious effort, I realized writing with bandaged fingers was perhaps a better option. [By the way, I can write well with my left hand too].

My training as an Architect affected my letter formations and soon, people would appreciate my casual handwriting even at a cursory glance.

In today's age of typing, its rare that I have to write anything beyond few lines. Needless to say, my handwriting, something I was so proud of at a time, has suffered. However, what remains is in the image below: a hastily written application. Do you like it?
  
In fact, the easiest way to impress me is by having a good writing. At the same time, it must be noted that all the men I have had a crush on or fallen for or ever noticed have simply pathetic handwritings.
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Discover Things that make me who I am : A, BCDEF, G

9 comments:

Mary Kirkland said...

I do have nice handwriting. I think it's a shame that so many kids don't even write notes these days. it's all email and text now.

Rajlakshmi said...

I used to take part in calligraphy competitions in school :) and we used to compare each other's handwritings ... gone are the days :)

Donna said...

Wow... a firecracker! You have overcome many challenges with that! In this day of typing I have to admit that I miss handwriting. When I find something that a loved one had written to me before they passed I feel a sense of joy in seeing the words their hands have formed. I wonder if there will come a time when no one will see anyone's handwriting... scribbles or not, a personally written note can become a treasured keepsake. :)

Wendy said...

When I was in elementary school, we practiced penmanship daily. I actually liked it. Now cursive isn't taught at all. I guess there's no need. I "signed" some e-documents recently by selecting a signature from a drop-down menu.

One of the discussions in the genealogy community is whether future generations will even be able to read old documents, or even our letters and signatures. Will there be technology in place to translate cursive for them?

Visiting from A to Z ~
Wendy at Jollett Etc.

Unknown said...

Oh the joys of pen and ink, and cursive writing! I make it a point to write my to do lists on paper. Well written post, good luck with the rest of the challenge!
http://themagicquill.blogspot.in/

Stephanie Faris said...

All I ever did was copy other people's handwriting. I'm pretty sure the way I write now is just a combination of all of those different handwriting styles I copied!

Ranita Sinha said...

In my family my sister had and has a pathetic handwriting..when recently she joined a school I called her on the first day to know how her day was..she replied that everything was ok but the only misery was that she was asked to practice handwriting..we had a great laugh..but practice really makes it perfect..my daughter has a very good handwriting..it is difficult to distinguish her handwriting with grown ups..

Preethi Venugopala said...

I love caligraphy and whatever i write on my blog usually forms on the page of a notebook. Nice post.

Unknown said...

I'm jealous and hopeful. I've always had horrible handwriting. It is something that has been an embarrassment to me.

You're story is pretty encouraging. I think I shall get back to working on my handwriting skills.