Captivated by School Supplies

Our Team Members Talk About Their Love of Back-to-School Supplies

With the change from summer to fall, some people get excited for sweater weather and pumpkin-spiced lattes; we at Project Write Now get psyched for … SCHOOL SUPPLIES! That’s right. Pens, notepads, whiteboards, highlighters, Post-it notes! We might have a problem. But there is just something so energizing about a fresh set of pens and a glue stick that sets our hearts a flutter. We asked our team members to talk about their favorite school supplies. Here are their answers …

Jennifer Chauhan, our executive director and instructor for the Memoir Intensive class, says:

I am passionately, obsessively in love with notebooks! Even walking down the aisle of Shop Rite, I eye spy if there’s a unique notebook tucked among the black and green and blue composition books. Last week, I went school supply shopping with my son for the last time, and found this beautiful notebook covered with butterflies. My notebook buying tip: Buy two, otherwise you’ll never use it!

Our education director, Colleen Doogan, says: 

I have a love of highlighters … they remind me of reading in college, finding the important parts and thinking if I highlight this, I’m bound to remember it and get an A on the exam! No, but honestly, my love of highlighters started in college but has grown over the years during my teaching days and now into my mom days. I love the different colors and they are perfect for highlighting the kids’ events and appointments in my date book. Each one gets a different color so at a glance, I can see who needs me and where I need to be for each child. I can’t live without my highlighters these days but it is for a much different reason than thinking I will get an A on an exam if I highlight the right sentence. Now it’s knowing I will get the right kid to practice because they are highlighted in blue, not pink!

 PWN screen academy director, Lizzie Finn, says: 

I’m a file folder girl, because I love to be organized. The minute I enter Staples I go on the hunt for a new set of folders to coordinate my latest project or class. At my first job back in the early 90s, all the folders were those boring plain manila ones. Then they added primary colors, followed by more exotic colors. And now you can choose whimsical or inspirational folders to hold your files. File design has come a long way, and it’s made organizing just a bit more fun and less mundane.

Our Just Critique and Lunchtime Write-In instructor and program coordinator, Lisa Hartsgrove, says: 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I cannot live without the Pilot FriXion Ball Clicker Retractable Erasable Gel Pen. That, and my yearly planner, are the only way anything gets done. I have to write everything in the planner to solidify the intention. BUT I will ONLY do this with my special erasable pen, because if something needs to change, the planner needs to be able to reflect that. And who can handle the chaos of crossouts?!

PWN’s operations and communications manager, Elizabeth Jannuzzi, who is also participating in book inc’s 2022 Memoir Incubator program, says: 

I love a clickable gel pen and a brand new lined spiral notebook. I love the feel of the pen rolling its black ink over the paper. When I write, I type on a computer. But I love to make lists or notes with a black gel pen. I love the feeling of the click. I love to pause and give the pen a couple of clicks to get my thoughts going.