We live in a world of instant communication. Need to tell your friend you found their missing glove? WhatsApp. Want to share a funny meme with your sister across the country? Instagram. Breaking news about your goldfish learning to do a backflip? Twitter, obviously.
So why, in the name of all that is efficient and digital, would anyone bother with the archaic practice of handwritten letters?
My Pen-and-Paper Epiphany: Discovering the Joy of Letter Writing
My love affair with letter writing began, like many great love stories, with a healthy dose of skepticism. My grandmother, bless her soul, insisted on sending me handwritten letters for every birthday, holiday, and random Tuesday that struck her fancy. I, being a child of the digital age, would skim through the first few lines, maybe chuckle at a particularly witty turn of phrase, and then relegate the letter to the “decorative pile” on my desk (read: black hole of forgotten correspondence).
But then, something shifted. I was having a particularly rough week, drowning in deadlines and self-doubt. And amidst the flurry of emails and notifications, I found one of my grandmother’s letters peeking out from under a stack of textbooks. I decided to actually read it this time.
