“Never underestimate the power of a girl with a book.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I love books. Those others have written and those I write in for my own use. Books and paper were a part of my childhood; early on I discovered the magic—and power—found in a blank notebook. Technology hasn’t completely replaced the awe I feel when I set pen to paper, but it has its own time and place. Every time I follow map directions on my watch or open my iPad to look up a fact that years ago would have sent me scrambling for the right encyclopedia volume, I’m struck by how rapidly everything has changed. I often think of Penny from the original Inspector Gadget animated series with her computer book. I wanted to be her, in all the ways.

why I choose paper

Perhaps because I’m not a digital native and computers weren’t ubiquitous when I was in high school, I still reach for paper first. Classroom notes were taken on paper with a pen, likely on the most inexpensive paper that could be found and whatever pen still produced a mostly solid line. Thankfully, the exact choice of tool was, for most classes, left to the student. I can still remember when I splurged on my first Clairefontaine notebook in my senior year and the extreme joy I found writing calculus equations on its pastel colored grid pages.

I have a collection of notebooks today, some are inexpensive composition books picked up at back to school sales. Others are of finer papers either European or Japanese. For all of these notebooks, I use them when I need to. I have no problem setting aside a half-filled book and waiting to return to it years later. The pages still work.

Why do I keep paper when I have the skills to write the digital system of my dreams? Ease of use. Paper doesn’t demand software updates or compatibility checks. I can read what I wrote twenty years ago without worrying if the app still exists or if a company decided to shut down their servers. The notebook sits on my shelf, waiting. No battery required. I can write what I want in the pages, how I want to format (especially if it’s a blank page).

Perhaps one day I’ll have the completely magical digital notebook that animation-series Penny carried, the one that could solve or answer everything with the press of a button. Over the decades of choosing paper, I’ve learned something more valuable: I know what I need. I’ve learned to listen to myself instead of reaching for the new thing. My right choice is not the same as that of anyone else. The tools change shape, the brands evolve, the prices increase, but paying attention to what works for me, that is the real magic.