The Question

Since I was seven years old, I have written in cursive. I was required to learn it in elementary school for reasons that are still unclear to me now. We were told that it was because all adults wrote in cursive in the “real world”, although that was untrue at the time and remains untrue today. In fact, I am constantly surrounded by people who refuse to write in cursive. From writing the answer on a chalkboard during class to writing a thank-you note after a birthday party, everyone I know and love writes in print script. I quickly realized that I was an outlier with my cursive handwriting, especially after people began to ask me to write in print script. I was asked by countless teachers and professors to write my short-answer questions in print script because they did not want to take off points for “illegible”. Friends have asked me to read out postcards to them because they cannot read my handwriting. One time, I wrote on a board during work and was asked by a student, “Why don’t you write normally?”. Even though people have been asking me to write in print script for years, I have always refused to change my cursive handwriting.

The Answer

Why? Why do I continue to write in cursive? My handwriting connects me to my father. Just like me, my father has written in cursive since second grade. For other people, my father’s handwriting might be unreadable, but for me, it is the easiest thing to read in the world. I learned to read my father’s handwriting before I understood there was a difference between cursive and print script. My mother has said many times that our handwritings look very similar, and this is probably because I modeled my handwriting after his. My father describes his handwriting as a complex and (sometimes) messy mixture of cursive and script print. It is beautiful with looping letters and slanted words. I treasure every note my father has ever written me because it is a physical reminder of our collective handwriting. As a daughter, I know that I will eventually outlive my father. It is a part of life, one that we must accept no matter how hard we avoid it. However, I know that a part of my father will continue to live through me, specifically through my handwriting. Every time I write, my father will be a part of it. From love letters to shopping lists, my father will be present in my written word.

So, no, I will never change my cursive handwriting.