The Personals Project: Personality in Handwriting
You can tell so much about someone from their handwriting...especially when they are looking for love
Personal handwriting is a tried and true window to the soul (as Shakespeare said. Writing with his quill on a piece of goatskin.)
Even with the new Google web fonts, even with the thousands of fake “handwritten” fonts to choose from, nothing compares to true handwriting to express authentic personality. Awhile ago when personal ads switched to online formats I went through a period of mourning. It was a guilty pleasure of mine to read the personals in the back of our local tabloids, and when I was single, and wrote to people, the envelopes (!!) in my mailbox (!!) made my heart stutter as I tried to figure out from the handwriting if this person was The One. (Or just not-psychotic…). How sterile it seems to look at peoples’ love-resumes in Arial, with some freaky photo of them with their rat terrier and their skateboard sitting on the hideous orange couch. There has to be another way. Something normal. Like, real life? Walking around? Coming up with great lines, like “hey I like your shoes,” or, “is this mango ripe?” If you are so used to texting you can no longer speak, try writing, with a pen.
Seriously, put down your laptop and send the girl across the bar a note instead of keyboarding to somebody who looks cute online but might actually be a Russian algorithm or a parakeet –– how would you know? And what if you make a date and they stand you up? Or what’s worse, what if they do show up, but after ten minutes it’s, “Oh, I have to get my clothes out of the drier, right back!” Blind dates are just trauma. Whereas there are actual human beings all around you for your instant preview, no waiting and fantasizing, you can find out if it’s a match right now –– and passing someone a note is the most retro and charming way you could possibly get their attention.
Like that girl. She isn’t on her phone, isn’t that amazing? This is your chance.