Having and Using an Abnormal Amount Of Pens

I have a problem. See, I have this debate bag. It used to be my mom's laptop bag, but I'm 'borrowing" it for the next year-and-a-half. That's not the problem. The problem is, in the side pouch of my new debate bag, I have this pen. It's a red pen. Red is my favorite color. This particular red pen is out of ink. But you know how sometimes, when you have a pen that's out of ink, you can leave it alone for a while until it festers up enough color to make you think it has somehow recharged and is not out of ink when in reality it pretty much is? That's how this red pen is. And I always forget this until the middle of the 1AR when I think, did this pen seriously run out of ink again? I mean, I remember now. Now, I just continuously make the same mistake with my dying green pen. That's the problem. 

Unlike my monochromatic debate partner, I try to be a consistent, two pen, two color flow-er. I really do. But I'm new. In addition to often flowing speeches in the wrong columns, I frequently flow top-of-the-flow issues, like Topicality, in whatever color I have for the other team and have to retrace the tags. This can result in an entirely new range of color. Suddenly, there's a turquoise on the board, where there was previously only blue and green. Suddenly, your flowpad is extra colorful and super fun and extra confusing and super annoying. 

Of course, if a pen runs out of ink mid-somone-else's-speech, there's that issue. This is when a plethora of writing utensils comes in handy. Two easy ways to justifiably increase your flow color diversity are to either dig into your own stash or steal from your partner. However, it's advisable that you steal from your partner during the prep time before your speech or when he's still at the podium and doesn't necessarily need a pen rather than during the other team's speech when he kind of does. Somewhat as a last resort, you must then frantically try to locate a different pen that is actually yours. The problem I have, though, is that most of my pens are blue, so I'm usually flowing with a blue pen, but if the non-blue pen runs out of ink, it can be tricky to find another pen that is not blue and is also not my red pen or my green pen. There is also the issue of sometimes your partner leaves his pen at home so you lend him yours and then he leaves it outside somewhere so you have to give him another one while still keeping at least 2 for yourself. Debate is hard, people. For multiple reasons.


I blame debate for the fact that I carry multiple pens in my purse, other various bags, and sometimes in the pockets of my coats and jeans. You never know what could happen.


You're homeschooled. It's good to be prepared.