Oh that is just FONTastic!

If you are somewhat of a regular at this bar called The World Wide Web, you might have overheard conversations in different... accents. Accents that can completely change the sound of a sentence depending on the accent used.  That's right people, we are talking fonts.

I remember back to the late 90s when I first started to really grasp the idea that my font was an extension of myself.  Being a proud internet-er from the beginning, I was on aim, livejournal, xanga, I was even (embarrassingly) a member of the magical land of Neopets (I had a blue unicorn named Balburina.  I am pretty sure if I found my username and password, she would still be "starving to death").  Each of these sites/apps/programs/etc had places to write blurbs, thoughts, or messages and you could always choose your own font.  This brought excitement and stress into the life of my 12 year old self.

With the exception of one year as a very very red head, I have never made a drastic change to my appearance in my life.  When I felt the need to feel reinvent myself, I didn't dye, cut, or pierce anything, I found a new font.  When I was younger, my font choices were young, hip, and exciting.  I started off with Bauhaus 93, I then moved on to a more sleek and stylish Bradley Hand.  After that, I wanted a little more respect and so I moved on to Book Antiqua.  Throw in some Impact, Lucida Sans Typewriter, and a terrible case of Curlz MT, and you can timeline my entire trip through puberty.

Later in life, I got more natural with my fonts.  Nothing to glitzy, just beautifully simple enough to let my words speak for themselves. Oh Helvetica, you are my morning coffee font.  Helvetica was my go to font for high school papers, that is, until I learned that Arial is a wider font and could extend my papers by at least half of a page.  Goodbye Helvetica, hello wide waisted Arial.

As an adult, fonts have become a natural part of my virtual self.  I tend to stick with the default font unless there is any real reason to get fancy.  I thought my font woes where long behind me.  Then, I got a job.

I work at a talent agency and it is my job to get all of the audition information out to our talent.  I do this by phone and also by email.  On my first day, as I was being trained, I notice that we are getting to the draft version of the audition email.  The typographer inside of me shrieked in pain.  On the screen, in bold, red, and size 14 font, was the only font unanimously hated by anyone who has ever felt an emotional connection to a font.  Yes, my friends, Comic Sans Serif.

My font journey is never ending.