1. Personalities By: Sarah Bechtolt

2. I was born approximately 5,000 years ago, when artists in China used soot, gelatin from animal skins, and lamp oil to develop a black fluid used to color the raised surfaces of pictures and text carved in stone.

3. And this is what Ink wrote…

4. “Oh Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.”

5. I come in all sorts of colors and typically am found in liquid form. I am smooth, graceful, versatile and am a form of art.

6. And this is what Ink wrote…

7. “But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights... always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.”

8. I have a memory that does not forget. I am a keeper of history. I bring memories to life.

9. I am a guide and a tool that has been used for thousands of years to record events of the past and present so they will never be forgotten. I am thoughts transformed onto concrete surfaces.

10. I am time’s secretary. I am a reminder of the people, efforts, and incidents that have shaped our world in which we live today.

11. And this is what Ink wrote…

12. “Riches, prestige, everything can be lost. But the happiness in your own heart can only be dimmed; it will always be there, as long as you live, to make you happy again.”

13. I have been placed on many different surfaces for many different purposes.

14. You can find me in the form of musical notes written by composers of today and yesterday, in letters written to those we love, in books and in journals, or in documents that hold meaning that is timeless…

15. And this is what Ink wrote…

16. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

17. …THE END