When I was in elementary school I was the poster child for how a student should be. I got my work done fast and right, and then I would read a book silently until the rest of the class caught up. My assignments were never difficult for me - I was always left disinterested at the end. Why would I get excited over something that took me a little less than two minutes to complete?

There had to be a way to make school more interesting... and it's not like I can change my major as a second grader. My dad would reward me for good grades with money but a little goes a long way with an elementary schooler. What am I to do with $50? The new GI Joe only costs $8, besides, I can't bring him to class and start a war at my desk.

The search continued, what could I do to make my assignments more involving? One day, on a routine printer ink re-fill visit, I accompanied my dad to Staples. As he was dutifully searching for the right cartridge in a sea of plastic Epson boxes, I found the pen aisle. This was it! I peered through the colorful Papermates, Pilots, and Pentels. These plastic pens were not up to the task. I had been using whatever writing instruments I could muster around the house and these were too similar to what I knew.

The journey continued, entering the foray of premium pens. Here there were Crosses, Mont Blancs, and Parkers. These were no longer pens, but rather precision crafted machines honed in on one task and one task only: to enhance the user's writing experience. Inside the beautifully designed metal bodies adorned with gold clips were inky refills that glided over the paper, connecting the inside realm of my mind to the outside world in a seamless transition.

No more scratching at red and blue lines with a 5-year-old BIC from the trade show, from here on out it was rollerballs and gel inks so smooth the nibs merely hovered over the notebook fragments to create rich lines and vivid letters. School became fun, it was now an opportunity to use my newest instrument and show it off to the mere mortals I called my classmates.