Every August in elementary school, I remember my parents notifying me of a school supplies list. There were communal classroom items, like hand sanitizer and tissues. It also included everything stationery-related, from pencils to glue sticks to markers. And of course, my favorite part, notebooks. I would wander the isles at the store, looking for the perfect notebooks each year. Five Star was my go-to brand back then.
Taking notes was not stressful back in the day. There were rarely any slides and the things we had to write about were more open-ended. It would be satisfying to turn the crinkly pages and feel the small grooves created by the pressure of writing. At the end of the year, all these notebooks would be housed on my bookshelf in my room. I am sure people throw their notebooks away, but I personally could never. For instance, I am never throwing away the composition notebook with duct tape and our names that our class got in second grade.Â
At first, I wrote with the classic yellow Ticonderoga pencil with a pink eraser. Everyone used yellow pencils to the point where our teacher made us put duct tape “flags” around our pencils so we could distinguish them. Then in fourth grade, along came the mechanical pencil phase that everyone was obsessed with. I learned that an average mechanical pencil would not cut it. It has to be a #2 mechanical pencil so you can take tests with it. That’s why BIC and PaperMate were so popular. No one had to wait in line anymore to sharpen pencils! However, watching the pencil shavings was satisfying.Â
I would pay close attention to the notebooks that people would use. For example, I remember in my Arabic school class, a girl had several notebooks from the same brand, “Glitter Glam.” Each of these notebooks would have a glitter cover with a binding in the same color. I tried looking for these notebooks high and low, but could never find the exact replicas.Â
In middle school, we would still have school supply lists, but starting in 7th grade, our class was given Chromebooks. In the past, I rarely used a device for learning. We would use iPads or go to the computer lab at the teacher’s discretion. Now, we were expected to turn in assignments online. But for the most part, we still used notebooks regularly.Â
In high school, most people still used notebooks, but computers were becoming more common too, whether to turn in school assignments or use them for a class activity. This was also the time when I started learning calligraphy, so I had fun writing headings in fancy letters. I also shifted from pencils to pens — I just found them to be classier.
The biggest change for me was in college. All professors I knew used slides. It was almost unheard of to write notes on the board. It was normal that people would type notes on computers and occasionally, tablets. But the majority of physical notebooks were gone. I understood for the sake of simplicity that it is easier to type than write, but I was taught to handwrite all my life, and that was the strategy I was going to use.
No professor cared about note-taking methods in my freshman year, except for one. She limited only two rows in the lecture hall to use computers or for those with special circumstances. But for the rest of the class, we were required to use notebooks. Being the handwriting-obsessed student I was, I was ecstatic that we could at least still have a use for notebooks.Â
This professor had a valid reason why we should handwrite our notes instead of typing them out. She said, based on studies, that it was easier to retain information if people took their time and hand-wrote things. The information goes through your brain, whereas if you type, the information goes through your fingers. And I agree. When I handwrite notes, I have to pause and write all the letters instead of letting my fingers fly on the keyboard.Â
For the majority of my classes, I have a notebook dedicated to them. Some classes do not require note-taking at all. However, for a few classes (usually worth four credits), I feel like a computer works better for me because there is too much content to write down by hand. I use that as a last resort, though. When I type, I feel like something is missing in my note-taking experience. It’s almost as if I don’t feel whole.Â
Another reason why I love note-taking is for aesthetic purposes. Before coming to college, I would almost always decorate the covers of my notebooks with washi tape, stickers, and markers. It made me feel excited to take notes. With a computer, the most I could do was change the color of a Google Doc and change the font. But as I mentioned before, this does not feel exactly right.
With notebooks, I get to color-coordinate my notes and change the color scheme every few weeks! When I was writing this article, my theme was light blue. I always carry a brush pen, colored pen, highlighter, and black pen. I get to draw fancy bullet points like circles and arrows in my notebooks. You can do that on a computer, but it feels too perfect to me. In my notes, they are not perfect. There are mistakes, but it feels like a human wrote these notes.
I miss having physical books and notebooks. They truly give off “academic” vibes. However with a computer, there are many things in one place, and there is no need to carry books with you around campus. I am anxious in the sense that I feel like too much screen exposure is not healthy. Literally, every single day, there is a screen in your face. But for the sake of how easy it is to use a computer, it makes it so addictive. Not to mention, if I take notes on a computer, I can easily open different tabs and scroll the internet. When I handwrite notes, it forces me to pay attention and gives me something to do.Â
Another common note-taking option I see is using tablets. I use the app Goodnotes to take notes on readings. I have tried to use an iPad in class, which did feel better than typing, but as I mentioned earlier, I would rather limit screen exposure. If people could handwrite notes in the past, why couldn’t we? Â
Therefore, I will continue whenever I can to handwrite notes. While preparing slides helps the professor plan better in advance, I have managed to handwrite notes based on slides. If I am the only one among a sea of college students using computers, then that’s what will happen.Â