Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
freestocks 9rHgOVRdrDM unsplash?width=719&height=464&fit=crop&auto=webp
freestocks 9rHgOVRdrDM unsplash?width=398&height=256&fit=crop&auto=webp
/ Unsplash

In Defence of “Old Fashioned” Love Letters

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Exeter chapter.

The term “love letter” calls up images of a bygone era when post arrived by horse and carriage and women swooned at handsome men. Not exactly ‘21st century’. As independent women of today, writing a letter might seem to be a waste of time; the amount of post sent per day in the UK has even quartered since the invention of the mobile phone. But here at HCX we wonder if love letters don’t have to be a thing of the past. In fact, we’ve come up with a few reasons you should give love letters a go…

1. Excitement and Anticipation

As much as a ‘love note’ seems toe curlingly old fashioned, we believe love letters can be a good way to make a relationship exciting. The anticipation of waiting and checking your post tray every day for that letter from a special someone can keep a relationship refreshing. Why not send something unusual: a beermat from that pub you visited or a photo of the two of you from a day in summer? Love letters don’t just have to be words.

2. Romance on the Daily

So “Valentines” has come and gone, whether you did something special or not, romance shouldn’t be contained to that day. Even if you hate Valentines, it feels good to surprise someone with something romantic. A letter can be the perfect way to say: ‘I love you’, ‘thank you’ or even just ‘I’m so glad I know you’ without the commercialised fuss of a public holiday. Even if it’s just to tell your ‘lover’ that you think they’d enjoy a certain song, why not send them a burned CD, rather than just texting them the title?!

3. For Love of Long Distance

Long distance relationships are awful. There’s nothing else to it. Not being able to see someone you want to spend every day with can be heart-breaking. But why not pass the time between your rendezvous with little anecdotes; funny cards and letters to send one another? If there are little things you can do to bring a smile to one another’s face, why not? No-one else has to know – it’s something intimate between the two of you. It can certainly make the trudge towards the holidays less of a burden.

4. Empowerment

Historically, love letters were a way for men pursue the women they wanted, using flattery in the form of the written word. But by taking this somewhat one-sided idea into female hands and making it about the love between two people, women too can be empowered. So why not get yourself down to that stationary shop, buy some nice note paper and pen a love letter? (Even if it’s just to your best girlfriend to tell her how much you appreciated her holding your hair back last night)

So, we hope that you’re now convinced of the upside to love letters, and we can’t help but hope we might get some of our own soon…

 

 

Third year English student and aspiring journalist! My talents include; successfully quoting almost any Friends episode; getting excited about Christmas in October, (every year without fail), and owning one too many Bobbi Brown lipsticks. I mean, is there such a thing as too many?!
I am the new President of Her Campus Exeter. Last year I was a very enthusiastic Sex & Relationships editor, and I hope to be a magazine journalist. I'm slightly addicted to Diet Coke, and running to the fridge is my idea of exercise.