sarah · dessen

I write slowly. When I write quickly, everything looks like gibberish.

I had the same problem, especially when I was rushed, and I could never read my notes for school, and teachers would always comment that my work was excellent, but it was always messy, I switched to all caps, and it worked great. I'm constantly getting comments on my handwriting now. Good luck with your resoultions Sarah!!! =)

I'm secretly hoping to abolish like from my vocabulary. It seems I only add the likes in when I'm trying to give serious explanations, which is a problem. When I'm talking in a casual situation, the likes are kept at bay, but if someone asks me to explain ANYTHING, I dive right into that nasty habit closet and pull out all the likes I've got. :)

i more or less write neatly, but it can get messy when i'm writing quick notes and stuff-- my MOM is the one with the unreadable handwriting, haha. i don't really think it's about slowing down or whatever, (though it can be a lot neater if you try), but it's just about the shape and spacing of the letters. what i reccommend you do is like, write in a paper journal or something a few times a week to "practice" the way you write. it helps, i used to do it when i was a kid...i was a weird kid. haha:)

and i could never, ever eliminate the word "like" from my vocab. i sound like a VALLEY girl, but ahhhh it's impossible. i'd have to shock myself everytime i said it for like a month to stop.... and even then.....

I say "like" and "was all" and "you know" ALL THE FREAKING TIME. It's hugely embarassing, because I'm much younger than my husband, and I feel like it makes me seem even younger, even though his older sister does the same thing!

For handwriting, I got nuthin. My handwriting sucks. My eighth grade English teacher told me that it wasn't even chickenscratch and my friend Ashley pips up, "It's KATIE-scratch!" Yeah. What helped me was using a fountain pen- you HAVE to write slowly with those, and it looks elegant and prettyful, so you want to write better, too. But I want to write FAST. Bah.

Good ideas! My handwriting could use a lot of work, it is pretty messy because I rush so much. My grammar needs help too.
Amanda

I try to type long letters because my handwriting is so bad, but then I get criticized for impersonal letters. I figure it's better to be impersonal than send an illegible bunch of gibberish. To compensate (most of this is to my friend in the Peace Corps in Madagascar), I send a bunch of badly drawn stick figures illustrating my letters. He laughs and then hangs them up on his walls.

I write pretty quickly. My handwriting is usually neat, but I can't write on unlined or wide ruled paper. It's crazy! If the paper is unlined, the writing is all over the place (I can't write in a straight line to save my life). But if the paper is wide ruled, I always write larger than necessary, and my writing is already large to begin with.

Hope Sasha gets better soon! :-)
I usually litter my vocabulary with "um". It's hard to stop when you don't even realize you're doing it!
Anyway, this year my New Years resolution is to give up US Weekly. Eeekk!
Happy Holidays, Monique

I read an article in REAL SIMPLE (okay so I'm supposed to be a cool college student, but I like the articles in it!) Anway, the article was about speaking. Using terms such as "you know" and "like" and "um." I guess "you know" is a staller to give you more time to think about what to say...but it also means that you are not sure about what your saying is exactly what you want to say so you're apparently kind of confirming your ideas with them without even consiously meaning to. In Vogue and Allure and other magazines, whenever I read an article about Lindsay Lohan, for some reason I ALWAYS notice that she says "you know" a million times, in question form. Like, "My Chanel fur coat was 15,000 bucks. But my sister says that isn't expensive, you know?" It's weird.

hope the baby feels better soon! i remember using those puffy blue syringes to pull the snot out of my baby's nose when he was an infant. good luck. =)

Everyone says that I write really neat. I have to agree with them. But, I didn't start writing neat till about eigth grade. I've perfected it now, so that I can write fast and still have it look decent. It only came with hard work though. Don't fuss over it, it's not something that everyone has. Besides, who's going to care about your handwriting when they're reading one of your totally amazing books!

Really,as far as the handwriting thing goes, you need to take your time, and make it as pretty as you can. Eventually,you'll be able to go a lot faster without having to think about it so much. I don't really think anybody can write at top speed WHILE doing so flawlessly... it has to be impossible.
Good luck to Sasha as to getting over her first cold!
Happy Holidays!

For the 'you know' and 'like' thing...I've found that it really helps to talk slowly. My mind tends to think really fast and so my words are stumbling to keep up...and one phrase I always say is "I don't know..but.." but I began to get frustrated with it so I would slow my speaking down and make myself actually think about what I'm going to say before I do it..it helps a lot.

For the writing thing..I dunno. Practicing might help..maybe half a page a day. I was homeschooled and one of my subjects was penmanship when I was in grade school...good times. I hated it. haha. But I look back at those books now and its amazing how well I wrote. Not that I write anything like that anymore...but my writing isn't too bad..so maybe it helped? I also think that your spacing and how the letters are written is really crucial...

I know! My handwriting has continued to worsen the longer I write, which is seriously annoying. I wish you luck, as I am setting out on the same adventure to better my handwriting.

Hope your little one is better, soon! We used to slightly elevate the crib on one side when our girls were sick like that. And ran a humidifier. And got not sleep, worrying whether they were breathing well. Ah, parenting :)

On handwriting, I'm totally stealing the suggestions here. I have the same problem and I think it's gotten worse - for me - because of the keyboard.

yeah, i always say 'kay, cool beans' and 'well, you know..' those two phrases are my answer to everything (: and i feel your pain with the handwriting deal ): my printing is absolutely terrible. so if it seems like it's important that i be neat, i write in cursive, which isn't nearly as sloppy. good luck with the resolutions! ..but if i were you, i wouldn't beat myself up about them too much--one thing that i find endearing about a person is the familiar little phrases they use. and, as mentioned above, when you're a terrific writer you should get free reign to say what you have to say, however you want to say it :p

i hope your baby feels better. good luck with your resolutions and have a great christmas!

I've always been told I have good handwriting, but I honestly think it's just a result of years of practice...my grandmother was always after me to practice writing, and I guess it just stuck. I think I was just naturally blessed or something...I'm not sure.

That being said, I would much rather type than write, any day. Only when I have to visualize something do I prefer to write it. And as I write faster, my handwriting gets messier.

Good luck with your resolutions. I have a ridiculous amount of silly sayings too...and I think I've just gathered more since I've gone to college.

i hate to say this, but i think handwriting is something you can't help, you either have it or you don't, i don't think theres a point in trying to write super neat, you know? (i say it all the time too).

if you have to write slow, just to write neat, why bother, i HATE writing slow, i've given up on caring about my handwriting although its not too messy, there are definately times when two or three letters morph into one... i say if its anything formal then type it, if its anything important write really slow... as for your students, they can always come and ask you what it says because they shouuld be coming to ask you about correctoins anyway.
sorry for my spelling i stink at typing.

things like christmas cards, you can take your time on as well, i always try and make everything look pretty in cards. this isn't advice, its rambleing and oppinions. sorry, i'm no help, not to mention you don't know me, i'm just a fan :). happy holidays & good luck

I feel sorry about Sasha, but it happens. It's not the end of the world. But now about the neat writting, my friends are always comlementing on my writting. (Although I would much rather type, but still) and yes you can write fast and neat. But it just comes naturally, like wrtting a novel. Just take your time, Sarah, and it will come back to you. PROMISE! Keep practising.
PS. Sasha will be in my prayers.

I played a hippie in a play once and my character used 'yaknow?' a lot. Once the play was over it took me like a year to shake it from my everyday vocabulary. Haha it's a scary addiction! I hope Sasha gets better! There's for sure something going around.

It is a real teenager phrase, so I guess understandable that you still use it but definitely something worth trying to drop! The secretary outside my office (loudly and all day long) alternates between "you know" and "I'm just telling you!" I am driven insane but she has not had your educational opportunities...

I live in denmark, and last year I had an oral english exam. I got a 13 (which is like A+) and their only comment was, that I needed to stop saying like, you know and I mean.

-Rosa

Hope the baby and you are better soon. I have a 2 1/2 and 5 yr old who are sick with colds right now and the whining is driving me crazy.
As for the writing slowing down will help some but practicing handwriting also has some side benefits. To make t's and d's without loops helps make you less sensitive to criticism while making the t bar toward the top of the stem raises your goals. An open e (tho not exagerated) makes you a better listener. Also I found a daily journal not only is good practice in writing but dreams and peeves put on paper will be something you can enjoy later or your family can. They learn about your life and you can see how your dreams were reached or changed and as for something that "got your goat" you release it when you write it down and later you can laugh about it.

Awww feel better Sasha! My baby Adeline (13 months) is sick right now, too. Poor thing keeps coughing up a storm, I feel so bad for her! It's so hard to see your little one sick :o( Baby tylenol for fever and baby motrin for aches and pains! Remember you can do both at the same time and alternate them every 2 hours!

Also, I remember that T.V. interview that aired on PBS you are talking about. It just seemed to me that maybe you were nervous. I honestly have noticed SO many celebrities though on T.V. who are always saying "you know" to everything: It's just become the way a lot of us talk. I could see why you would want to cut it out of your vocab though -- good luck to you! I catch myself saying it a lot as well and have been trying to mentally cut back!

Also, moms don't have time to write neat anymore, ha! Maybe just type everything out and print :o)

Happy Holidays Sarah!

Bridgette W.

Ironically...my brother was making fun of me for saying 'like' all the time..and he sent me this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCNIBV87wV4

i have bad handwriting too and i want to do something about it. i found this website and it tells you that there are two different ways to write: with your fingers or you arm and shoulder muscles. i think it will really help me, and maybe the website will help you too. its: http://www.paperpenalia.com/handwriting.html

I can write fast AND neatly. Truly gifted. :D