Pen on paper

Why I like writing.

I was attempting to nail down the reason why I like writing physically, plain old pen and paper. I love the physical fluency of the words and letters, linking together smoothly and cohesively. My handwriting is bold and curvaceous (much like me!) and I'll find any excuse to jot something down or jot something in my diary for the sake of the feeling the pen on the paper. It sounds ridiculous and slightly obsessive. It's just another thing I like to do.

I was working with some 14 year olds and they had to complete some small tests, one being a communications test. At the end they all complained that their wrists ached and they had to write too much. Looking through their tests, the amount of writing they did seemed like nothing, each maybe 100 words at the most. I couldn't believe it — I was gobsmacked. I asked them "do you write essays at school?" and said "you've hardly written anything!" and none of them really answered me or said anything. They don't mind typing but they all hate writing.

Do teenagers nowadays at school do EVERYTHING on computers? I really worry about how, some schools and teachers, are letting the best traditional tools slip away because of modern technology.

I wanted to voice this opinion — what does everyone else think? People my age especially (22)...