By Brittany Snow

Staff Writer

  Late August rolled around and all of a sudden it was time for back-to-school readiness. When shopping for supplies, I tried to achieve a color scheme that would coincide with my navy colored backpack. I tried, but it didn’t work.

  Suddenly, the night before school started had arrived and I have to prepare for the beginning of sophomore year. I woke up a bit earlier than usual so that I could get everything in order, including my backpack. That morning, I grabbed two Five Star notebooks, the classic black and white. Alongside, I carried around a folder with loose leaf paper.

  As part of the graduation requirement, students are expected to take the College Prep Transition class, which I had to take last year as a freshman. It required us to write in our agendas weekly. I would be lying if I said I didn’t write down whatever I could as the teacher was checking it.

  This year, I decided to buy a planner of my own, so that I could stay on task with my assignments, without having to go through the panic of completing an assignment so close to the due date.

  Next, I grabbed a few writing utensils. I feel like my writing has always looked nicer in pen than it did in pencil, so I made sure that I had a pen on hand.

  Finding the right gel pen to compliment my writing style had been a challenge. I am left-handed, meaning that when I write, I tend to smear or smudge everything I pass over. Luckily, taking my parents’ pens paid off because I found a brand that suited my left-handed needs. “Sarasa” pens by Zebra are lifesavers and have complimented my handwriting since I started using them.  

  I always thought it was just luck until that morning, when I was opening the package and saw that it had advertised itself as the perfect pen for lefties. I had been using these pens since the summer going into eighth grade and had opened several packages, but I only noticed this on the first day of sophomore year.

  Despite the idea of coming to school prepared, I ended up not needing anything but a pen in only about two of my classes. On the bright side, I had just what I needed.