The Day We Swapped Pencil for Pen.

When we are children, we are taught to write with a pencil.
Not because it is easier to hold, but because it is easier to erase.
At that age, mistakes don’t scare us.
A wrong letter, a crooked line, one rub of the eraser and it is gone.
No one judges us for it.
In fact, we are encouraged to make mistakes, because that is how we learn.

But somewhere along the way, the pencil disappears.
One day, we are handed a pen.
A pen doesn’t forgive easily.
Once the ink touches the paper, it stays.
There is no eraser strong enough to undo it completely.

Just like life, as we grow older.
As children, our mistakes are called learning.
As adults, they are called choices.
A wrong decision now leaves a mark on our career,
our relationships, our confidence.
People notice.
We notice.
And suddenly, we become careful, sometimes too careful.

We hesitate before writing.
Before speaking.
Before choosing.

But maybe the lesson was never about fear.
Maybe the shift from pencil to pen was not meant to stop us from writing,
but to teach us responsibility.
A pen asks us to pause, to think, to mean what we write.

And even when we make a mistake, it stands there in ink,
reminding us that life doesn’t always allow erasing.
Sometimes it only allows accepting, learning,
and writing better on the next page.

Because growing up isn’t about never making mistakes.
It’s about learning to live with them,
and still finding the courage to keep writing.