The magic of a gel pen
A story about brightening up a wobbly day
A couple of Saturdays ago I was in a funky mood, so I decided to look through some bits in my bedroom to distract me from my phone, which I had been glued to all morning. I placed my phone on the floor, walked up the stairs to my bedroom and opened a drawer, inside it I found an unopened packet of four pens.
I took them out of the drawer and pulled them out of the case one by one. It was only when I looked at them more closely that I realised they were gel pens. I grabbed a piece of paper, pulled the plastic nibs off each end of the pens and began to draw swirls, then I moved on to write random words.
The words appeared in blue, green, peach, and pink and the bright colours immediately pulled me out of my funk. They were a stark contrast to the paper, and it felt like I was creating fireworks that were lightening up my mood. I continued to alternate between the pens until the words filled the page.
I sat back in my chair and admired my work, then suddenly a memory surfaced of buying school supplies after every summer holiday. We would go to WHSmith1 and then make our way to the second floor to pick out my new pencil-case, pen (normally a fountain pen as I liked how they wrote) and a multipack of gel pens. I then remembered that I really liked the ones that had smells to them, especially the blueberry scented blue gel pen, which was my favourite.
When we went back to school in September, my friends and I would gather together and tip out our pencil cases onto a table and then trade the contents. I was always keen to get rid of the yellow gel pen, as I hated the synthetic banana smell it gave off. This ritual occurred every September until we grew out of the tradition and our attentions went elsewhere.
It’s amazing how one thing can pull you back to a memory in an instant. The nostalgia attached to a pack of gel pens astounded me. But then it made me think that sometimes it can be the little things that make a huge difference. Like a familiar book that you return to again and again because you know how it ends. A glance at some photos that hold precious memories, and a gel pen that brightens up a wobbly day by unlocking a wave of nostalgia and serotonin.
It feels rather bittersweet after hearing the news that after 233 years WHSmith is going to disappear from UK highstreets. The stores hold a lot of memories for a lot of people.