"Wow, how many of such pens do you have?"
"Is it really that good?"
"Can you not be so picky?"
There's this pen that I use and I only use. I have been using this pen ever since the start 2014 and I don't think I'll ever change my pen unless I run out of it. I am currently left with 8 boxes of such pens and I certainly do intend to get more of it from Vietnam.
On the surface, this is a gel pen and therefore, it smudges. The ink runs out quickly and has a lifespan of approximately 3 General Paper essays (12 Pages I suppose). Yet, this pen is very smooth and makes me feel better at my seemingly ugly handwriting compared to my peers. Yes, my male friends would always comment on my ugly handwriting relative to other girls. (Some of them even have nicer handwriting than mine!).
That's such a superficial description of my favourite pen. Not that good after all.
This pen has a name called the 90 rank points pen. A dear friend of mine (Doan) who uses this pen scored 90 rank points all the time. Doan would bring back boxes of such pens from Vietnam for my friends and I to use ever since we became closer at the end of J1. I remember fondly how we used to have boxes of such pens inside our common locker as we used this pen to do our tutorials, take notes, complete our revision packages and finally take our exams. J2 was a year when my grades (my friends' grades) picked up. We eventually did well for alevels (not 90 but for some of us, a jump in 30-40 rp). This includes Doan who scored 90 rank points. That's our lucky pen. I wouldn't attribute our success solely to this lucky pen but having seen many batches of this pen come and go during the process develops sense of attachment to this pen.
Now, this pen holds a deeper meaning for me. Before Doan left Singapore and Vietnam for Canada to pursue her dream and studies, she brought in many more boxes for us to use, hoping that this would last as long as possible. Hence, one can see how I ONLY use this pen when I take any exams or when I do my work. Not only does this pen remind me of those days when we studied together and motivated each other, it additionally reminds me of Doan and the memories that we (including other friends) shared together in J1 and J2.
University is indeed a lonely place despite being very blessed with a close group of friends from the same major and same residential college as me. Being selfish for wanting to hold on to such fond memories of those days, no other pen can replace my favourite 90 rank points lucky pen as I continue to motivate myself to work hard.
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Pen is made in Korea but can only be found in Vietnam at a really cheap price.
This blog post was written and edited instead of writing my final draft for a module called Sites of Tourism & it is inspired by a friend who was puzzled by how I only stick to one pen.
