The Handwritten Comeback: Rediscovering Gratitude One Note at a Time
- Nov 21
- 3 min read
By Michelle Meyers
Founder of Happy Yellow Paper
At the end of summer in 2024, I found myself on a zoom call from a hospital bed in the ER—IV in my arm, laptop balanced on my lap—convinced that pushing through was the only way to succeed. That moment was my wake-up call. It wasn’t burnout I was battling; it was disconnection. Somewhere between corporate deadlines and endless digital pings, I’d lost touch with the simple, grounding act of slowing down long enough to say, “thank you.”
When I started Happy Yellow Paper, I didn’t set out to build a stationery company. I set out to create space for connection, for pause, and for gratitude to find its way back into our daily lives. What began as a handful of playful designs on my kitchen table has grown into a full line of cheerful stationery, whimsical calendars, and personalized paper goods that invite people to reconnect with others and with themselves.
There’s something sacred about handwriting. It’s imperfect, personal, and deeply human. A text message disappears in a thread, but a handwritten note lingers tucked inside a book, taped to a mirror, or held close on a hard day. Writing by hand forces presence. You can’t multitask gratitude. You have to mean it.
Over the past few years, I’ve seen an entire community of people from executives, mothers, brides, and students rediscover the joy of paper. They tell me our mini desk calendars brighten their workspaces. That simple note card gave them the courage to reach out after years of silence. That writing, quite literally, became a lifeline. Those stories remind me that gratitude doesn’t just change the receiver, it changes the writer, too.
When I design each Happy Yellow Paper product, I think about that emotional exchange. I ask: Does this design invite someone to slow down? To feel seen? To smile? Our stationery boxes aren’t just paper and envelopes; they’re blank canvases to reconnect. Even our compact 2026 desktop calendar was designed as a daily reminder to find something worth smiling about, no matter how small.
If gratitude feels hard to access right now, start with something simple. Write a note to someone who shaped your story, a friend, a teacher, a parent. Thank them for something specific. Not for what they did, but for how they made you feel. If you’re not sure where to begin, use one of these prompts:
“Today I’m thankful for…”
“Something small that made a big difference this week was…”
“You probably don’t realize how much this meant to me, but…”
The words don’t need to be perfect. They just need to be yours. If you want a bigger challenge, send seven cards to seven friends or family within seven days using these prompts:
“You might not realize this…”
“Something I am grateful for right now…”
“A moment I’ll never forget…”
And while you’re writing, don’t forget to collect your own words too. I keep a small “success journal” filled with kind messages, notes from friends, and words that once encouraged me. On the days when self-doubt creeps in, as it does, I revisit those pages. They remind me the same encouragement I offer others is something I deserve too.
We all need evidence of our impact, and sometimes that evidence comes in our own handwriting.
I often say that Happy Yellow Paper isn’t really about stationery, it’s about the moment someone opens the mailbox and feels remembered. In a fast-paced digital world, we are making a quiet case for slowing down and choosing to express gratitude the old-fashioned way…one note, one letter, one heartfelt word at a time.
Gratitude, I’ve learned, is a muscle we rebuild through small, deliberate acts. Each handwritten message becomes a bridge between what we feel and what we rarely say. And in that space, connection takes root again. Because at the end of the day, don’t we all deserve to see those words of gratitude?
About the Author
Michelle Meyers is the founder of Happy Yellow Paper, a women-owned stationery and gift brand creating playful, design-driven paper goods that celebrate connection over consumption. Each product is made in the USA and crafted to bring color, meaning, and connection to everyday life.
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