During my two years at the University of California, Berkeley I have made so many new friends. But, there are still times when I do miss home and my friends back there. However, that feeling was eased one day during my first month at Berkeley when I received an email telling me a package had arrived, only to be surprised when a letter was directed to me from a friend back home. I was super happy to receive a letter, as I’d never been sent one before. It’s a handwritten letter from my friend with stickers and trinkets from the past month.Â
After that, it became a tradition for her to send me letters each month, and I loved it so much that I decided to start sending her letters every month too, so she could feel the excitement that I felt every month when receiving a letter. I think that this is one of the best ways to keep in touch with a friend or family member, especially when you’re so far away from home. So, I wanted to share some tips and tricks on sending a letter to a friend.
During the month, I like to keep track of the events that I experienced, witnessed, and accomplished, or just anything that I deem important during that time period. Then, I’ll write a handwritten letter about what happened that month, and I like to write a Q&A asking about her month at the end of the letter. In each letter, I prefer to keep a theme, as every month there is a new holiday or celebration. There are certain colors or pictures that I use to decorate the envelope for each of the letters.
Next, if there are any notable places that I go, I like to collect any sort of memorabilia that I think is cool as another way of showing what I’ve been up to during that month. Some of the things that I’ll collect are: stickers, postcards, pins, pictures, drawings, or even little arts and craft projects. Lastly, I always like to seal the envelope with a wax stamp, making sure it’s secure and ready to go.
Overall, this is one of my favorite things to do. I’d consider it a hobby, but it’s also something that keeps us connected even from so many miles away.