During these harsh times of not being able to go outside and see friends or family members, I thought it was time to pop open my pink stationery box. Something I started doing during quarantine this summer is writing snail mail to my friends! I always enjoyed writing letters, holiday cards, birthday cards, postcards, etc to friends and family, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to stay in contact with friends during a global pandemic.
For many of us, returning to school was never an option to begin with because of COVID-19. We had no choice but to stay at home and not risk exposing anyone or ourselves. Which is why I remembered something that I used to do in middle school was writing letters to friends on cutesy stationery with envelopes decorated with stickers, stamps, and funny fonts with gel pens. It’s always fun and cute to pick themes for your snail mail. Snail mail is a great way of self-expression and to let someone know that you still care about them deeply even if you can’t see them in person. Yes, of course, you have FaceTime, Zoom, Discord, and Skype, but what’s more personal than receiving a nice beautiful elaborate letter from a dear friend of yours?
This is also a great time to use any cute stationery items you might have laying around the house (or buy online). I know I have a collection of stationery items because I just can’t help myself. I impulsively hoard cute items but hey it’s for a good cause!
Just imagine randomly one day of the week your friend gets a letter in the mail from you! The bloom of excitement across their faces! Imagine how touched they must feel. How sweet that gesture was for them. It will most likely make their day a whole lot sweeter and put them in a good mood! It’s awesome to remind them that even though you can’t physically see or physically talk to them face-to-face that you’re still there.
How do I write snail mail? Simple, just make sure you have the address of who you’re sending the letter to (Agnes Scott students can use OPD if you want it to be a surprise), stationery paper/cute memo sheets/card/postcard, and gel-pens/pen/pencil/markers. Extras could be stickers/washi tape/glitter/pictures/ink stamps and of course you have to get a postage stamp! The most important part is the letter itself, make sure it’s meaningful! It could be you simply asking open-ended questions, recounting memories you’ve shared with them, or even things you’ve done but didn’t have the chance to tell them.
This is also a good way to support the United States Postal Service (USPS). Decorate the envelope as much as you want but make sure there’s a section for your address and the person’s address you’re sending the envelope to and the place for the stamp. It has to be legible handwriting on the front! Remember that you could also decorate inside the envelope if you want to add a little touch. However, don’t limit yourself by just sending the personal letter, you could also include surprises. For example, you can include a postcard, stickers, cute memo sheets, washi tape, etc. The whole thing is yours to decide what to do– it’s all about self-expression.
Once you start writing letters, you’ll start to receive letters back! That’s where the real fun begins. You and your friends (or loved ones) can write each other letters back-and-forth. Think about the holidays and all the cool things you guys can write about and send to each other.
Snail Mail is always good mail!