Fountain Pens Boost Self-Esteem

It should come as no surprise to those of us who stubbornly cling to our lovely fountain pens, but according to the BBC, fountain pens help boost student's self-esteem!

Stewart's Melville Junior School in Edinburgh has found that students who use fountain pens write more neatly, which makes their papers easier to mark. As a result, the students feel more confident about their writing, which helps their overall self-esteem.

I think fountain pens help my self-esteem, but not because I write more beautifully when I use one (although that may be true). Fountain pens are beautiful, and when I use one, I immeadiately feel like whatever I'm writing is more valuable. It's harder to write junk with a fountain pen, and even if it is junk, it doesn't feel like it. It's hard to explain.

I still remember my first fountain pen. I got it from my mom as a birthday present. It was a Sheaffer and came in a kit that included tubes of ink in all sorts of exciting colours (I adored the aqua blue--I wanted to write everything in it). I recall how excited I was to practice my letters and to copy all of the beautiful alphabets included in the instruction booklet. Something about having a special instrument to write with made words so much more exciting.

These days I drool over Montblanc's writer's edition pens (the Oscar Wilde is pictured). They are to die for. Heaven knows how much they cost, but one can dream!