Handwritten letters are becoming a thing of the past, and after this assignment, it makes me a little sad. I was originally worried when I heard that I was going to have to hand write a letter because I had no idea who I would write to nor what the letter was going to be about. I decided to write to my younger brothers because they are who I miss the most from home.

Nowadays, a reason it is harder to converse with people via mailed letters is because it takes a while for them to receive them. This could be due to long distances, wrong addresses, or a mailing mix up and that makes it less dependable than a text message or phone call. Technology comes with its own set of problems, such as dropped calls, no service, and wrong numbers. Even with these technology cons, its easier to communicate because it is much faster. By calling/texting someone you are able to reach them within seconds and when the matter is urgent or time sensitive, that is crucial.

With all of that being said, a letter is something special because it lasts forever. I still have memorable birthday cards or letters from loved ones because they meant something to me so I kept them.  I was able to think about what I really wanted to say so that it would mean something to my brothers. Not having spell check was a struggle at times, but knowing that I was writing my brothers a thoughtful letter made the ideas flow. I think this exercise is important for any millennial so that they can be reminded of how important it is to keep handwritten letters around.

To begin, I’d like to apologize for this rather tardy blog post. However, my tardiness is going to further my point.

When Dr. Menke wanted us to write a letter, I was originally excited. I never get to send letters because everyone is typically used to text messages. Most of the people I talk to are just a click away so I tend not to send letters. However, given the excuse to send one, I was ready to jump at the opportunity.

However, I soon became consumed with too much work and stress from other sources that I actually forgot about the letter. When I realized I had to write a letter in a couple of hours before class, I freaked out. How in the heck could I have forgotten.

And that’s the point: In this generation, we’re so consumed with everything else that we forget to do the things that actually take time and are important. Even if we are originally excited about them, most of them soon take the backseat to other outrageous events that force themselves into precedence. It’s important to remember that the things in life that take more time and pay homage to those ways before us are still important. If they got our ancestors through life, they obviously aren’t too bad. Of course, we don’t have to go back to carrier pigeons or the Pony Express, but it is nice to know that we still have letter writing as an effective method of communication…even if it slips our mind until an hour before class.

There are several different media platforms in which I can send a friend a message. I could go through Facebook, Twitter, call them over the phone, or even by sending a simple text message. However, writing a letter is still a decently common form of contact between individuals. Now a days, people get excited over a letter in the mail. When I open the mailbox and see an envelope with my name on it, I am excited to see what the envelope has in store for me. I feel as if this creates a feeling that a text message just doesn’t create. I also believe that writing a letter is more personal. It shows that you took the time to gather the materials and put aside a few minutes to write out something meaningful. I wrote my letter to one of my closest friends who I haven’t seen since I went off to college. We will be seeing each other this weekend as we fly to Philadelphia together to see Rihanna and Coldplay perform, so I hope she will receive this letter before we head out. While I haven’t written a letter in some time, it didn’t feel the least abnormal to me. I assume this is because it’s similar to sending a very long, personal text message – which I frequently do send. This probe showed me that writing a letter may be outdated, but it has remained an excellent way to let someone know that you’re thinking about them.

A good friend of mine, Shivani, is attending Georgia Tech as a freshman this year. One of her favorite things was to send people mail. From care packages to letters, everything. So when Dr. Menke told us that we’d be writing a letter to someone, I knew I had to write one to Shivani.

I’ve never actually properly written a letter before. I would only write a few sentences on a card. Something along the lines of a “Happy Birthday! Have a great day!”. But writing a letter is so much more different because it requires a lot more effort than a simple pre-messaged card. I found that writing letters was a lot more extensive than sending a text or video calling. I had to think about what I was gonna write and how much I could write before I couldn’t write anymore. I couldn’t attach funny memes or post links for good songs.

As a very sentimental person if I were to receive a letter, I’d keep it for a very long time, reading it over the years. Because of this, writing the letter struck me differently, in a good way. It was a completely different experience and I might actually take it up as a regular habit.

When I first heard about this assignment I really had no idea who I was going to write to.  I only live about an hour away and talk to most of my family on a daily basis through texts, so I wasn’t really sure who I wanted to write.  I ended up writing to my boyfriend who I don’t get to see or talk to as often as everyone else.  It was a lot easier than I initially thought it was going to be.  I thought it was going to be a really awkward letter full of me just rambling on about random stuff that has happened during these past few weeks, but it turned out a lot better, and easier than I thought.

After writing the letter, I found myself somewhat frustrated; that’s the best way I can describe it, but I wasn’t upset.  I  was just so excited for my boyfriend to read the letter, but I knew I was going to have to wait about a week for him to even get it. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise of me writing the letter either, but I felt so weird writing all this stuff down to tell him and then having to wait more than two minutes for him to read it and respond, but I still enjoyed it.

Going into this assignment, I was thinking this is going to be very difficult. I was asking my roommate, “How do you even start a letter?” The only letters I’ve ever written to my knowledge that I can remember would be thank you notes 2 months ago for graduation gifts. I have no idea how many thank you notes I wrote, but it was a good many and all I could think of then was it only gets worse, there’s going to be a lot more when it comes time for me to get married. My hand was aching after all those thank you notes. But when I actually started writing this letter it wasn’t bad at all. I wrote to my God-father who lives in Alpharetta and I don’t really see him on a regular basis. I just started rambling about my college experience and what all I’m becoming involved with and I just thanked him for everything he’s done for me. And that I absolutely love it here in Athens! It was so much easier for me write down what all is going on with me in Athens than telling someone. You can write so much more and it helps you remember everything by writing it down. Writing that letter was a little bit strange because I’ve never written a letter before. It’s so much easier to just pick up a phone and ask somebody how their day was. But honestly I think it is so much more meaningful to a person if you write them a handwritten letter rather than, shooting them a text or email. I think it shows that you actually care and that you actually mean what you are saying. I enjoyed getting this opportunity to write a handwritten letter.

When reading this assignment, I struggled to decide which family member or friend I wanted to write to. I ultimately decided to write a letter to my older brother Nick, who goes to Auburn. My brother and I are very close, and text or snapchat each other almost every day. This made writing a letter to him very difficult because I am just not used to sitting down and writing my thoughts on paper. It was difficult to determine what exactly I wanted to write to him, and I struggled to find the right wording. I finally just had to start writing and realize that I could say whatever I wanted to say, and that nothing was going to be “wrong”. Ultimately, letter writing was a positive experience for me. I am excited for my brother to receive my letter because I feel a letter is far more personal and sentimental than a text. I am encouraged now to eventually write letters to all of my family members and friends because they are a thoughtful keepsake that can be saved and cherished forever.