Bad handwriting has been a source of embarrassment and anxiety in my life. Whenever I write in cursive form, the alphabets resemble ouroboroses in heat. Unglamorously entwined yet madly unhinged. I am saddened by it. Perhaps, as a writer – I feel obliged to be better at this.
I remember the first time when someone had asked me to sign on a piece of paper. I wrote down my initials as precariously as I could. It was as though someone had finger-walked me through it. My signature remained unchanged for about 8 years. Then, I had to come up with a new one at the behest of a lawyer.
As for my handwriting, it remained awful over the decades.
Last year, I decided to test and check if my handwriting still sucked just as much as before. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about for hours. As time went by, I grew more and more impatient. I couldn’t think of anything to communicate.
At some point, I threw caution to the wind and started improvising. I chose poetry because it doesn’t have to make sense anyway. After the first few words, I felt crippled. Also, I feared that I had forgotten how to write the alphabet “B” in running hand. In a matter of minutes, I was surrounded by crumpled pieces of paper.
I just couldn’t write my way out of it. I felt uneasy. It was as though a colony of ants had swarmed underneath my skin. I could feel their antennas tickling against the nerve endings in my cartilages.
Finally, I calmed down. I took deep breaths. And started to pen a silly poem about birds and food fights. By the end of it, I was sure that I wasn’t going to try this out anytime soon. It was too much of an emotional experience for me to handle, without the use of intravenous medication.
But I did learn a valuable lesson about writing and life – in general.
Sometimes, you win. Sometimes, you lose.
Keep calm and pick your battles.
(Photographs: Chennai)
Your posts seem to be softening, gently, it’s nice. Your handwriting is nothing less than adorable. And I can hear your feet within the video, somehow. ❤
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d’awww thank you jessie
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If I had to choose between bad handwriting and bad writing, I think I would choose the former. There’s always the keyboard or you can hire your own secretary when you’re rich and famous with your prose (which will be one day!).
I was blessed with a drafting-style script/print. Students used to pay me for my hand-written notes in engineering school, so crisp in pen and legible. Ha!! But I can’t even write the simplest haiku to save my life.
By the way, I would be at home with thousands of territorial winged cockroaches. And I look forward to seeing that Mr. Bean dance on your blog, Christy. 😀
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Awwww shucks, Shannon, you always manage to draw a big fun smile on my face!
I’d to see your handwriting posted on your blog sometime please. I look at good handwriting with such pleasant shock and awe!
Cockroaches. Sigh yes. I was going to sweep that under the carpet. But alas. It has been a constant fear. I run like an awkward gust of humid breeze (also dance step #4).
Hi, I am Christy and I am Katsaridaphobic.
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I had a bad writing too. I used to get bullied in school for my writing – by none other than my teacher. I worked on it real hard and made it tolerable. But it’s back to bad hand. Not many believe that, and they ask me to write. And then I ruin the greeting cards and ‘shagun’ envelopes. And then it’s too late!
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you could type a verse and attempt to pen it down later…just to feel or maybe improve the writing 😛
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Clever suggestion, buddy, thanks! I think my problem lies beneath the skin though hehe
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😀 don’t worry…I think it is our whole generation that faces this sort of a thing..I have a problem penning down a poem while writing too..its typing dats faster..no idea why..
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There is far lesser misery in company, saya, thanks again!
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Ah..glad to be of help 🙂 my pleasure..and u lessened mine too..
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Awww machi. Cute handwriting. Cuter than those handwritings that looks like chicken legs (my handwriting) 😉
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Thanks Nanba! This was after repeated efforts. Believe me, my handwriting makes headless chickens blush (in some other part of their bodies) (smile)
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ha ha…ouroboroses ?? Had to google that one 😀
As someone said before me, bad handwriting can be overcome…good writing is great (y)
Loved the little senseless poem…sometimes they make us smile and that’s what we need !
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Awww thank you, Uma! I wish I could overcome this too. Worst case scenario, inscribed on my tomb would be, “oh well, I tried” hehehe
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Digital age, my dear friend….no need for hand writing.
Thank God for it. Handwriting is my hair shirt too.
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Yes yes, but still, to write legibly – it will be a moment of vanity. I am superficial like that, sagodhiri!
Also, “hair shirt” – hehehe well played!
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Bad handwriting isn’t a bad thing, they say that it’s the sign of an intelligent person. Luckily most things are typed nowaday so thoughts can always be communicated clearly.
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‘m surprised by our human minds – how we want to strive just to make happy the little unsatisfied self lurking somewhere in there!! But Christy your writing is far far superior and as for handwriting I would never call it bad – its totally legible and written perfectly on the lines!
Somehow got hooked to these lines …”Unglamorously entwined yet madly unhinged” …it made me think of relationships which are sometimes “unglamorously entwined yet madly unhinged” …… sometimes “madly entwined yet unglamorously unhinged!”
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