Go Old School This New Year

I have a favorite pencil. The Mirado Black Warrior. It’s a black, rounded pencil and writing with it feels like you are writing with silk. But the best part is how this pencil smells. One whiff and I’m instantly transported back in time. It’s the night before starting 4th grade and I’m out in the garage where the pencil sharpener hung, sharpening a box of #2’s and carefully placing them in my brand new pencil pouch. Trust me; the smell of the Black Warrior is so addicting you will never touch a mechanical pencil again!

Writing with a pencil is old fashioned. And jotting down notes and to-do lists with a pencil on actual paper is so last century. There are handy dandy apps I can download to my phone for grocery lists and to-do lists. Heck, there are even virtual Post-It notes! But there is something amazing about being able to have a thought and then pick up a writing instrument and turn that thought into something visible. Viola! What was in your head is now solid and tangible and can be easily shared with others. Our thoughts, our words, our wishes are suddenly real. We are the only living thing on earth that can achieve this feat. How awesome is that?

Whether your 2011 resolution was to lose 10 lbs, organize your closet or cook more meals for your family – take my advice and grab a small notebook and a fist-full of Mirado’s and jot down those resolutions. Next week I guarantee that while you are munching on peanut M&M’s while trying to find your left black pump as you punch the number to Pizza Hut into your cell because you’re too tired to cook – your Black Warriors will still be with you!