The Art of Writing Letters

I'm sick of people saying...

"I love modern technology. I'm so glad we don't have to write letters anymore."

Ahhh! What an infuriating sentence. I agree, it's fantastic that we don't HAVE to write letters BUT I'm appalled by the statistic I heard on the radio last year that some unbelievable number of youngsters have never even seen a postage stamp. Whaa? Facebook is sucking up all of our free time, making us think that we're all so closely linked and up-to-date but Facebook stalking is NOT a relationship.

Emails, texts & wall posts are written quickly and forgotten faster. When I write letters to my friends around the world I take at least 1hr per letter. By the time I'm sealing the envelope I feel like I've spent some real quality time with them and they'll get to enjoy that time with me when they open the letter. It's a whole hour devoted to thinking about this person, imagining them, opening up to them. It's crazy how you can 'spend time' with someone who isn't even there in person.

Plus, the paper itself is da bomb! I have a giant collection of letters from the past decade — each letter with it's own fragrance, texture, tears & stains. All the unique + personal fonts (a.k.a. handwriting) side by side. One day my collection will be admire by historian. I dare say your text messages aren't going to be such charming archives. ;)

A few months ago, I received a letter from Emily (my maid-of-honour / she works @ the Houses of Parliment in London). She wrote the letter on notebook paper while taking her afternoon tea in the parliament's cafeteria. Just the fact that that piece of paper had been inside the heart of the parliament was super capitol COOL.

"The very act of writing by hand slows the mind, forces it into a more contemplative state in which precisely chosen words convey nuances of emotion that could never be captured in a quick "Wassup?" Nonetheless, nothing expresses respect for another like a handwritten letter...." — 'Top 25 Things Vanishing From America' in Daily Fiance