Pencil case full of stubby pencils

We went off to school with a pencil case full of stubby pencils, lined exercise books, hefty encyclopaedias, and regular trips to the local library.

If you wanted an answer, you had to go and find it properly. No instant searches, no copying and pasting, no Wi-Fi at the kitchen table. Just pages to turn, notes to write by hand, and the quiet rustle of a library on a rainy afternoon.

And somehow, we managed. We learned our lessons, passed our exams, and grew up perfectly alright. It wasn’t easier — not by a long shot — but it taught us patience, resilience, and how to think for ourselves.

When you look back on it now, there’s something rather special about that, isn’t there?