The Story of a #2 Pencil

Hi, my name is #2. I am a pencil. My exterior is bright yellow and my color reflects my personality. When I am placed in the hand of a human, I am full of creative ideas, numerical equations and answers to many questions. I become one with my owner, Amy, and words easily flow on to the paper. She loves to journal and years ago we would spend hours together writing beautiful poems, song lyrics and short stories. I am a flexible tool and my words are not permanent. If she didn’t like what we wrote, she could easily use my dependable eraser and wipe away the words.

As I mentioned, I do very little writing lately and I sit patiently in the cup on her desk. Every time she sits down, I start to fill with excitement because I think that this will be the moment when we reunite and start to write. However, over the years she has started to do her writing with Bic.

He is a nice enough pen, but I have to admit that I am a little jealous of him. He is made of shiny clear plastic and has a really special black cap that he wears. I have my eraser, but it is worn out from use over the years. He is also so much taller than me because I have shrunk over time due to sharpening. I think I may spend the rest of my days just sitting in this cup. I am no longer useful and just don’t compare to Bic.

Amy sat down at her desk earlier today to write. As she was reaching for Bic, I saw that she paused for a moment and then changed the direction of her reach. Before I knew it, I was being lifted out of the cup and carefully placed in her right hand. I was filled with joy and just when I didn’t think it could get any better, Amy started to speak to me.

“Boy, have I missed you old friend. We have written so many beautiful things together and you inspire me. There is just something about holding a #2 Pencil in your hand. It feels so natural and it makes me excited to write. I definitely prefer using a pencil over a pen when I am writing. So, let’s get to this…let’s write together once again.”

I think that today’s writing session was one of the best ones that I can remember. Amy and I worked as a team and put some beautiful ideas down on paper. She made me feel useful, special and unique. It made me realize that I shouldn’t compare myself to Bic because I have something special to offer too.