For those who don’t know already, I am obsessed with notebooks and writing tools. The way that many people feel about how, a change in scenery can give a clear head and refresh your mind, I believe that the same can be achieved by purchasing a new notebook, pens and pencils. I cannot tell you how many of these I have scattered about my apartment, but the number of pens and pencils far exceed that of notebooks, for one reason…I go through notebooks more quickly. To understand this, I must explain my method of writing.

I handwrite everything. Yes, I own a computer, and yes, I have tried the whole stream-of-consciousness method of writing, which is the only way I can write on a computer, but it’s just not the same for me. I feel that, the second my fingers touch the keys, the thought is instantly lost from my mind, but when I put pen to paper, that’s never the case. So, along with my need to handwrite everything, comes my need for it to always look perfect. I constantly edit while I write (it is probably my greatest passion) and after a while, there’s a lot of cross-outs on my page which, for some reason, start to block my thoughts, so I tear out the page and rewrite it, editing some more as I go along. I cannot tell you how many times I perform this action, but by the time I am ready to type, there has been a transformation. My garbage can is usually filled with crumpled up pieces of paper. Many of you may think that this method is a waste of time, when I could just directly write on the computer, review once and be done with it, but this method works for me.

A few weekends ago, I went to Target in search of a few items and decided to briefly visit the stationary section. I was on a time constraint, as I had plans to see my aunt that afternoon and other errands to run beforehand, but, I told myself that I was just going to breeze through it; I lied. As soon as I entered the aisle, I was in heaven. I walked up to the pens and started perusing, taking up a few different kinds from which I would allow myself to choose one from. Next, I walked over to the mechanical pencils and, after a little digging, found a singular pink one that came with an extra eraser (I’d never seen that before) and, more importantly, extra lead. Of course, I had to get it. Then finally I turned around, and allowed myself the pleasure of looking at the notebooks for the first time. Seeing as how I was purchasing new writing tools, it seemed only fair that they have something new to write in as well.

I must have spent close to an hour in that section, leafing through all of the different notebooks that they had. I felt as if I was in a sea of notebooks. At one point, I discarded my purse and latte on the floor so that I could have full use of both of my hands. Unfortunately, other than a small notebook, none of them spoke to me. Small notebooks are great, but I find I write better with the normal sized ones. Maybe because there is simply more room to write on.

I left Target, feeling slightly incomplete, and drove across the parking lot to a food store that was nearby. Upon parking my vehicle, I realized that I was right next to a Staples. I thought to myself, they must have full-sized notebooks in there for me, so I went in. I had barely stepped foot through the doors, when I was immediately distracted from my task by an entire aisle of writing tools. I stopped in front of some pens and, was about to lose myself amongst them, when I came to my senses and backed away; I had just purchased some. Next, I stumbled upon a section of post-its…more post-its than you could ever imagine. I wanted to buy all of them, but compromised and allowed myself the luxury of one, singular post-it; a purple rectangle embossed with shoes on the bottom, left-hand corner. Perfect. I left the post-it aisle and continued my journey, holding back the urge to walk into the next one, which was full of folders and binders, until finally, I made it to the notebooks

Slowly, I gazed over every single one. I was, at first, disappointed with their collection; it seemed like Target had an exuberant amount of which, Staples just did not seem to possess. Then I looked more closely. By this time, my latte was long-gone, so I had no obstacles in my way. I plunged into the notebooks, picking the occasional one up, examining it closely, and always, putting it back. Frustrated, I was about to leave, when I spotted a flower-covered one peaking out from behind a few plain ones. I pulled it out from underneath and looked inside. Not only did the lines meet all of my qualifications, but the pages were watermarked with flowers running down the right-hand side. I took both the notebook and my shoe post-it, and headed directly to the register, ignoring the urge to explore any further. I handed the cashier the money, took my purchases, and walked out of the store with a smile on my face. It’s the simple, nerdy things that make me happy.