• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Lost Prairie Press

Lost Prairie Press

Trending News from the Midwest - IA, IL, KS, MO, NE

  • Home
  • MIDWEST
  • ILLINOIS
  • IOWA
  • KANSAS
  • MISSOURI
  • NEBRASKA
  • About Us
    • Contact Us

This I Believe: Handwriting

For over four years, I have walked away from Compass for Kids, where I volunteer weekly, with a warm-hearted feeling  truly inexplicable. Throughout this time, I have built unbreakable bonds with many of my students, and thus have gained access to the most intimate aspects of their personalities. Different from other elementary students, in the short amount of time the Compass Kids have been alive, food insecurity, physical/mental abuse, and many other situations that most adults will never face have monopolized their lives. 

2021 This I Believe Illinois author Leeza Zavelsky of Springfield High School discusses the power of handwritten keepsakes.

At my first Valentine’s Day celebration with the children, I received a heart shaped note in scribbly, perfectly imperfect handwriting that said, “thank you, Ms. Leeza for coming and helping me.” Yes, words were misspelled, and you had to turn your head and squint to make out my name, but no gesture since has made me feel so appreciated. Although this certainly exited the memory of this child the second they handed me the letter, I have had this hung above my desk for nearly four years. It has brought me large amounts of comfort, namely in the past year, for I can only see my students virtually.  

In today’s overwhelmingly digital society, I’ve found to cherish all handwritten tokens. I will always choose writing over typing; when I type in double-spaced, twelve-point Times New Roman font, identical to my peers, I feel robotic, as if my work is insubstantial. However, I take solace when using a ball-point pen and paper, for my personality radiates through the curvy words on the page. I am truly aware and focused on each stroke of my pen and what I am writing, versus aimlessly clicking my laptop’s text prediction. Personally, being hunched over a piece of paper with a pen is refreshing, especially now that our everyday (once loved) activities have been converted to Zoom. In an attempt to salvage my mental health during quarantine, I created to-do lists for each day on a sticky note. It served as a sense of normalcy- an anchor in the chaos of our modern society. 

Whether it be a fading Valentine or stack of completed to-do lists, there is some handwritten keepsake that many humans can find comfort in. I believe in the power of handwriting; it not only has given me a breath of fresh air in our suffocatingly digitized world, but allows me to reminisce among my fondest of memories. 

View Source

Filed Under: ILLINOIS

Primary Sidebar

More to See

6-things-to-do-this-memorial-day-weekend-in-kc:-may-26-30-2022

6 Things To Do This Memorial Day Weekend In KC: May 26-30 2022

Lawrence Busker Festival The Lawrence Busker Festival is a celebration of street performance that started in 2008 and has been held every year save 2020. The event is free, of course, though … [Read More...] about 6 Things To Do This Memorial Day Weekend In KC: May 26-30 2022

New American Rescue Plan Act grants available to OP businesses

The City of Overland Park will soon open three new grant programs for the Overland Park business community. Community Capital Fund of Kansas City, Mo. will administer the grants. Community Capital … [Read More...] about New American Rescue Plan Act grants available to OP businesses

meet-the-people-farming-in-kansas-city’s-urban-core

Meet the people farming in Kansas City’s urban core

Meet Kansas City’s burgeoning community of urban farmers.  BY NATALIE TORRES GALLAGHER  |  PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHASE … [Read More...] about Meet the people farming in Kansas City’s urban core

summer-2022-overview-arrives-in-mailboxes-soon

Summer 2022 Overview arrives in mailboxes soon

Posted on May 25, 2022 Overview is the City’s quarterly newsletter for residents. It includes news, things to see and do in Overland Park, valuable information for neighborhoods … [Read More...] about Summer 2022 Overview arrives in mailboxes soon

where-this-kitschy-stagecoach-statue-landed-after-leaving-overland-park

Where this kitschy stagecoach Statue landed after leaving Overland Park

Photography by Kayla Masisak It’s an odd piece of art in an odd spot. But this kitschy, eye-catching stagecoach placed just perfectly in an oblong oval median in Independence has a … [Read More...] about Where this kitschy stagecoach Statue landed after leaving Overland Park

Footer

WELCOME!

Thanks for visiting Lost Prairie Press!

We hope you’ll enjoy news and perspective from the Midwest – specifically, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri.

About/Contact

Privacy Policy

Recent

  • 6 Things To Do This Memorial Day Weekend In KC: May 26-30 2022
  • New American Rescue Plan Act grants available to OP businesses
  • Meet the people farming in Kansas City’s urban core

Search

Copyright © 2022 · Lost Prairie Press