NOSTALGIA ??????

When was the last time, you picked up a pen and just wrote something down that went beyond a name, a phone number, or just a signature???

As you might know, I also teach economics, all online of course, for one of the universities in the USA.

Although, we use the latest and greatest technology in "Blackboard Ultra," which is specifically designed for college online education, with all the features you can think of for posting projects, homework assignments, term papers, quizzes, midterms, and final exams, one of my students just submitted his homework assignment all handwritten...for the Microeconomics course that I'm currently teaching online this term ??.?

I was like "WOWW"...to see something like that in this day and age is really something ... especially coming from a Gen Z!!!?

Not too long ago, I was part of a consultation team attending a meeting with a client, here in Dubai. I pulled out a notepad to take down some notes. It was quite a challenge, to say the least!!! My handwriting was terrible, I "misspaled" a ton of words, and for the first time, I felt this weird pain in my fingers. Hahahahah...

I remember, back in the old days when I first learned typing on a typical typewriter. For those of you who don't know what a typewriter is, just google it. I was so proud of myself that I had learned a new skill. That was 41 years ago, back in 1983. I was 15 years old, and we had just arrived in the USA to meet my mom's extended side of the family for the first time as my mom was born and raised in the US and none of her extended family members had ever visited Lebanon. While there, the war in Lebanon got even worse and the airport shut down for quite some time. Not wanting us to lose any opportunity of schooling, my mom got us into high school in the town where we were residing, Novi High School in the state of Michigan. This is when I learned to type the professional way. I was so proud of myself that when my first employer provided me with my very first laptop, I would pull it out during meetings and start boastfully taking notes by typing, using all my fingers, and without looking into my keyboard. And of course, this became a habit, and year after year, the use of traditional writing methods became ancient.

Nowadays, I just look for any opportunity, especially during meetings, to boastfully pull out one of my nice collections of pens and a notepad to take notes. If you haven't tried it in a while, I invite you to try it. Yes, it's going to feel weird, but I can assure you, it will make you feel good at the same time.

To my student, Peyton, I thank you for inspiring me to write this article today.

All the way from Dubai with love...