For decades Forest Park’s Dr. James Murray analyzed handwriting in a weekly Forest Park Review column. Today we run an update: Dr. Murray interprets a woman’s handwriting19 years after she first wrote to him.
From 1993:
…You are emotional and physical and find more fulfillment in the real world of experience than in the abstract realm of the mind. Your thinking should never be hurried because you need more time to gather your thoughts and put them together than most people require. Joyc, your large middle zone letters mean that right now you are feeling egocentric. You are very concerned about physical appearance and about what others think of you. Also, being open and honest is not easy for you right now. You are secretive and do a lot of rationalization.
My guess is that you are finding the transition from teenager to adult to be difficult. In some ways, your writing is more like that of a 16-year-old. I also believe your writing will change a good deal in the next few years as you mature.
In addition, Joyce, you are kind, sympathetic, sincere, and adaptable. You are, in fact, a very good person who needs to do a little more growing and maturing in order to be the best person you can be.
Does this come close to “figuring you out?”
Dr. James Murray
Today:
Dear Joyce,
Thanks you very much for writing to me again after all these years. I retired from writing my column in 2004 but due to many requests I started writing again after six months. I retired for good in 2009 after 33 years.
Your writing, today, does not look at all like it did when you were 18. Your handwriting has matured and so have you. Your writing, in fact, has become very attractive, neat, and even artistic. This is unusual, this this day, when handwriting has become something of a lost art, mostly due to computers.
The most obvious thing I noticed about your script, Joyce, is how much more disciplined, controlled, and rhythmic it has become. You have really grown up, even more than I thought you would.
Look at your capital I. The personal pronoun I is a self-symbol and yours looks like the number one. This means that you see yourself not only as good but also as the best (in at least one area). I shows that you have a very positive self-concept which is the most important quality for good mental health. You are, in fact, a well-adjusted person. You are practical, confident, realistic, determined and have a well-balanced outlook on life.
Your writing is also smaller and this tells me that you are cautious, serious, modest, accurate and good at detail work. The rightward slant of your letters means that you are sociable, unselfish, and a real humanitarian.
You write quickly, Joyce, and this means that you are smart. You have an agile mind and many interests. You are ambitious and have a strong desire for variety in your life. You have a fluent mind and the ability to be a good writer or public speaker, but you still need time to put your thoughts together before you express them. You are quite an intuitive person.
Joyce, you are honest, sincere, conventional and have a strong desire for clear communication and understanding with others. You are a good person!
Much good luck to you. Write again in another 19 years. If I am still around I will be glad to take another look at your handwriting. Hopefully, it will have improved even more.
Dr. James Murray
