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As part of my transition from electronic to pen-and-paper journaling in my daily life, I write in my notebook with a fountain pen. I actually bought the pen over a year ago at a local stationery shop, but I only used it sporadically before now.
The pen is a Pilot Metropolitan, a simple pen considered to be entry-level by pen connoisseurs. Since I haven't been using the pen frequently before now, I have no problem with using a low-end pen--on the contrary, my earlier infrequent use of the pen often caused it to clog, and its simplicity allowed me to easily wash it out. Writing with it regularly means that ink spends less time in the nib and the pen clogs much less frequently. Fountain pens are one of the few tools I know of that work better if they're used constantly.
Having a fountain pen has changed my view of pens. I grew up in a world filled with disposable ball-points, where one thought as lowly of a discarded pen on the sidewalk as a used napkin or a rotting leaf. The ease of replacing one is reflected in how frequently they're taken from office desks or hotel lobbies, usually without either party giving it a second thought. Owning a fountain pen has instilled in me a new respect for these wonderfully-versatile tools that we so often take for granted. I now take more pride and think more carefully about what I write with it.
My current aim is to write with the pen every day--ideally in a journaling context, but even if it's simply to jot down a shopping or to-do list.
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[Last updated: 2021-10-28]