I can’t say that I remember details of my childhood that well, but it’s safe to say that Crayola Markers were a part of it. Whether it was trying to blend the orange and yellow hues to create the perfect drawing of a fire or meticulously attempting to draw a human’s face, I didn’t let my mistakes get the best of me.

When I reached middle school, my childish tendency of wanting to scribble on paper dwindled, and I got introduced to Papermate flair pens. Flair pens gave me more preciseness with my doodling and writing, all while making it attractive to my eyes. Rather than trying to blend hues of markers, I was focused on making my notes look as appealing as possible by digging through my bag to find and lay out every possible shade of green that I owned so all my notes matched.

Now, I write with a Pilot G-2 05 black ballpoint pen. Sure, I grew out of the colors and kept my notes to simple black ink, but I don’t think one can understand the gratification I have writing with that black pen. So, even if I feel lazy to do my work, checking off something in my planner with the best black pen (no, seriously try it) is motivation enough to drag me out of my blanket burrito and walk two steps over to my chair.

So with all the talk of different writing utensils, I’m sure you’re wondering where I could be possibly going with this. It might be a long shot but hear me out.

I thought blending the hues of Crayola Markers would do what I expected it to do. But, regardless of how many contorted human faces I drew, I never put the marker away until I was satisfied.  When flair pens came along, it was my persistence to make my notes look like the examples on Pinterest.

Now, persistence is hidden in the determination I have to check something off my to-do list with my Pilot G-2 05 ballpoint black pen, regardless of my desire to binge-watch “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Friends” for the gazillionth time or aimlessly scroll on TikTok for hours.

So, this year, I give my thanks to Crayola Markers, for teaching me the importance of not closing my marker’s cap.

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