I've been meaning to write this post since the middle of this month, but today I finally overcame my procrastination because it's the end of the month and the last day of the Hive Collectors initiative proposed by 
Lately, I've been writing by hand, and I do so with a common ballpoint pen, the kind that are popular and inexpensive. I like writing with this type of pen, and I could say that they are my favorites. I don't collect them; when I need them, I use them, and that's it.
The only pen collection I have is a very special one that I acquired 15 years ago when I traveled to Mexico. It's a small collection, but very special to me. I remember that when I saw them, I fell in love with them immediately because of their original and mystical appearance, and also because they are decorated by hand.
How they came to me
When I bought them, I did it for myself. It was a gift to myself with the intention of using them at my desk when I started my career in administration. At that time, I had just graduated and was excited about working in the field and having a physical space for it. I know they are not elegant pens, far from it, but they have a quality that I identify with: mysticism, in my opinion 😆 .
These pens traveled from a craft stall in Mexico to a drawer in my dresser in Venezuela. I never used them to decorate any desk, and they spent years wrapped in a stored bag. Every so often I would see them when cleaning things, decorations would come off, I would repair them and put them back in storage.
One day I said I was going to give them to someone special, since I don't use them anymore. I still think they're pretty, but now I associate them with failure, with an unfulfilled goal. However, since they are a beautiful imported item 😂 and I've kept them for a long time, I want to give them a new purpose. I thought about selling them and offered them on my social media, but no one was interested. Then I thought about giving them to a friend in Mexico who had planned to come on vacation to Venezuela, but that didn't happen. So now I'm thinking about my flute teacher, who likes mysterious things, but I don't know if she'll think they're pretty.
Description of the pencils
They are pencils shaped like prehistoric animals 😁 and one shaped like a person. They are all strange, to be honest, decorated with pumpkin seeds, bones, and clay. They were made for decoration, as they have a ring at the top for hanging.
Strange person
This one has the face of an indigenous person hugging a crystal ball that has a drawing of a kind of lion made of rock inside, with the word "Teotihuacan" underneath, the place where I bought it, a souvenir I bought when I visited the pyramids there. This person has a crown of seeds that look like feathers and a small crystal quartz on their forehead.
Ferocious feline
This head shows its teeth and angry expression, and has green eyes like the crown that surrounds it.
Eagle or chicken
I know there are differences between an eagle and a chicken, but since I'm not sure, I'll call it both, since in the end they are both birds and have beaks 🤣. This one also has blue eyes and a crown of the same color, perhaps because it was the only one they had to paint them. The crystal on its forehead is red.
Saber-toothed tiger
Although it looks like a pit bull with big fangs, I associated it with a tiger because of the color of its crown, which is red and has come off several times.
This is the collection of pencils from Mexico, but I also have one from another country, Peru, whose design is a doll knitted in her traditional costume. I remember buying many of these pencils with different dresses and colors for the dolls. There were blondes, brunettes, and mestizos. I gave them as gifts at the school where I worked. I always brought pencils or key chains for them. My colleagues loved these pencils, and I kept one for myself, which I haven't used either. I may end up giving it away too.
