Writing a letter
I got stacks of letters that I got when I was younger, maybe from my teens until I was 20 or so? I used to put a lot of effort into writing letters when I was at that age, maybe because it was the time before Internet and e-mail?
It makes me feel rather old when I think about the fact that I started my life before there were Internet. When I was a kid having a pen pal was obligatory, because communication was limited to that – there were no text messages, chats on the phone or even e-mail. But it wasn’t such a long time ago really, when you simply had to send real letters if you wanted to communicate with someone in another country, for instance. And when I myself lived abroad I excelled in letter writing, maybe it was the big crescendo before it all stopped and e-mail introduced itself into my life?
Anyway, writing a letter by hand is an art-form in of itself, and one worth exploring if you haven’t done it yet.
I know that for myself I love getting any hand-lettered thing, like a greeting card or a thank you from a reader of this blog. It is one of the reasons I host the DIY Postcard Swap here, to break up the never ending stream of extremely boring envelopes that drops down on my hall mat. Bills, doctor appointments, insurance papers and other papers that I almost never want or need to have (because most of the time I already know what’s on them). Having some happy mail coming through is a lot more energizing.
So all of that said – I decided to write a letter to a friend that used to live in my town, but that moved abroad, to another continent. I have such mixed feelings about this, and every time I get an e-mail from her – I want to cry. I am very grateful that we became friends, but now I also miss her (and her whole family). It feels so unfair that we did connect and I found a true friend in someone who was interested in the same kind of things as I am. I have had such a hard time finding (close and like-minded) friends in my life, so it’s really sad when I (finally) find one who understands art, journaling and painting – that then has to move away. It’s not the same to send e-mails when you used to be able to hang out a lot and now you can’t anymore. I find it sweeter but also harder to write to someone who is a friend rather than to a “pen pal” that you might never have met, at least that’s my experience. But back to the letter…
I couldn’t just write an ordinary letter like I used to this time, so it took me a while to create it (because I’m slow). I painted a lot of papers from my letter writing pad, with watercolors. Just randomly splattering and painting them, and when they were dry, I continued the process of decorating. I used a black ink pen and doodled all around the borders of each paper that I wanted to use (and some extras because I couldn’t stop). And then I sat down to write it (that part was quick). And since I enjoy seeing other’s happy mail, I thought I’d write a blog post about it and share a few photos of the finished letter, now delivered to it’s final destination.
Did you write letters when you were a teen, and do you still?
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I started to write letters at 11, and I’ve never stopped. I write letters (or postcards) if not every day, at least every week, to pen pals and friends. It’s difficult to think me otherwise.
Hi Eva, thanks for stopping by. I think it sounds like a lovely and very creative habit to have and keep at. Good for you!
During WWII my mother in London stated corresponding with a lady in Canada. Later they both married and had daughters who started writing letters and so my friendship with my penfriend began. Our early letters were more like lists “For Christmas I got ….”
We continued writing letters throughout our teenage years into adulthood when emails took over. We have corresponded for over 60 years until a few weeks ago my special friend passed away. It was like losing a sister.
I think it is rather sad that people are often too busy in their own lives to develop friendships through writing.
Thank you Beverly for sharing your beautiful pen friend story. So sorry for your loss, but I agree with you, having a pen friend that is an actual friend is simply so beautiful and something to cherish!
Take care.
I would love to have a pen pal! I have several lovely books on artistic correspondence but in the last several years, no one to send things to…I miss the days of going to the mail to find a personal note from someone far away.
Hmm… really? Maybe I could give the pen palling a try if it was you… I am sure your letters would be SO beautiful and artistic. Wanna give it a try? Let me know if you feel up to it, no pressure on answering “on time” or anything…
Elizabeth, and Hannah, I would also love to have a pen pal. I travel quite a bit and love the art of journaling and writing. It would be fun to write to someone new, to get to know someone new. Enjoy! Debbie
Like you, I had several pen pals in middle school and high school. And when I went to college, I actually acquired many more, despite the fact that we now had email easily accessible. I love to write! When I got married and moved overseas, I found a love for adorable Japanese stationery – why is it so hard to find cute stationery other places?!
I’m sorry your like-minded friend had to move away! It’s very hard to find like-minded friends, and it’s sad to miss friends when they (or you) have to move. But I am thankful for email, text messaging, Skype, and letter writing to help keep us closer.
Thanks for sharing photos of your beautiful stationery you made! So happy! And I hope you have good luck in your in-person like-minded friend search. They are out there, they just seem hard to find sometimes. Keep looking, keep trying! It takes a lot of effort, but it’s worth it!
Arielle, thank you dear – and I already know you send beautiful things in the mail. :-)
I got your card the other day and wanted to say a big huge THANK YOU – love all the little sticker/paper things, esp. Mount Fuji. So cute!
So glad it arrived and made you smile!
Oh how wonderful Hanna, that letter you wrote! Yes, I was a letter writer too – I must have had 6 or 7 abroad penpals when I was in my teens (I remember from people in Canada, USA, UK, Turkey, Japan…) and we rambled-on-paper about our lives and our ‘fave songs’ and all.. one penpal (a girl with japanese roots in the USA) came to study in Europe and she came over to stay a few days with me and my parents, we still write postcards (and a few emails every now and then, but we seem to rather coninue that teenage-letter-writing-thing because that is what we used to do) Reading your newsletter and blogpost makes me think I could/should write her a letter this weekend as it’s been a while… I am glad to hear there are still letter-writers around and you are one of them! Big hug from Holland!
Yes, do write her a letter! Do it please! :-)