30 Days, 30 Inks: Day 21
The Ink
Day 21: Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-Ro
This ink looks really nice in swatches, but for some reason I haven’t liked it as much writing with it. I think it leans a bit too much towards green for my preferences. I don’t know. It hasn’t really gelled with me yet. I guess it’s more like, of all the inks I have, Syo-Ro just isn’t in the top list of ones I’d choose. 🤷♀️
It’s a rich color and of course flows quite well in different fountain pens, so if you like this kind of teal, it’s worth considering.
The Quote
You can’t find your voice if you don’t use it.
Talk about the things you love. Your voice will follow.
This quote is pretty self-explanatory and straightforward. But I want to extend this to a notion of practicing and the confidence you can gain from it.
I think about this almost every time I do simple things to maintain my fountain pens. I used to be kind of terrified that I would break something on my fountain pens even during a simple cleaning session. But now after having gone through many cleaning/maintenance cycles and experimenting carefully with nib swapping, I feel pretty confident in handling my fountain pen collection and doing more advanced experiments, like swapping and tuning nibs (which in some respects aren’t even that advanced, ha).
It seems like a simple thing, but it is cool to feel the empowerment of gaining expertise through practice. I feel like I forgot this was a thing as an adult. Now that I’m “grown up”, I feel like I should or am expected to automatically be an expert when I take on something new, and can get discouraged in the beginning phases when I’m still learning and making n00b mistakes. But it’s good to step back and remember that all experienced people started out as n00bs (or more generously, newbies) and eventually learn enough to not be a n00b anymore. Don’t be afraid to go through this stage again (and again)! It means you’re growing. Through the learning process, you’ll find your confidence, your “voice”.
