I am a stationery addict; there’s piles of pens and highlighters on my desk, in my bag, and everywhere it manages to end up. I am also a student, and in my day-by-day routine I write a plethora of notes for all the classes I am taking. In one hand I’m drowning in lined paper, and on the other, a permanent writer’s callus.

Ballpoint pens were my holy grail. Out of all pens, these were my go-to’s for anything ranging from doodling to psychology notes. However, as an avid note-taker, I seem to run into problems, especially with ballpoint pens; most of the pens I buy either bleed through the pages, ruin my highlighters, or don’t write as smooth as I want them to. Which is incredibly inconvenient. I’d like to write down vocabulary on only one piece of paper, not to have it bleed onto 20 more. I’d like to write comfortably without becoming distraught with pain, the skin on my middle finger sore and blistering with a red indent. But alas, because of said reason, I was pen-less and handwritten note-less for a while. Until I bought the black Bic Atlantis pen from Office Depot on a whim, desperate for one pen that could solve my problems, figuratively and literally.

Because of my bad luck with ballpoint pens, I was skeptical about this one. It was compact, and boasted “smoother writing” on its packaging. Packages can be deceiving, and I wasn’t going to fall victim to its tricks. I dreaded the results, but I gathered up the courage to tear it open. And to my surprise, no dread was needed.

The ink flowed smoothly, and my letters came out easier. However, I wasn’t impressed yet. I like to highlight my notes, because it helps me hone onto the important details that were necessary If one isn’t like me, and just wants a nice pen, this is where they would stop. However, I like to take things one step further. So, I uncap my highlighter, dragging over the print, waiting with bated breath. And to my surprise, no smearing was found on the paper or the highlighter.

From that moment on, this pen became my savior. Countless notes were written with it, all of them nicely color-coded without the fear of smudgy lines. I was able to write formulas with ease, and didn’t have the problem where half a letter would disappear. I was ecstatic, finally being able to rely on a pen.

Maybe one isn’t like me, not an avid-note taker or stationery-hoarder. Maybe they don’t have thin, wiry fingers like myself, or have a thicker grip. If so, this pen may not be for them. But if they’re like me, or at least somewhat like me, Bic’s got their back if they ever need it. Especially if they crave a smooth pen.