As a teenager, I was not into handwriting, but I did like History, gadgets, and cool colors of ink. A teacher at my school offered a calligraphy elective, and several of my friends took it, and several more took up the calligraphy hobby. My handwriting did not translate well into calligraphy, but the pens were cool in a gadgety/historical way (and far more ink colors were available than with ballpoints). Then, a friend and I discovered Parker Vector “normal” fountain pens at a discount store for around $9 (with several cartridges of ink!). That was the beginning!