Liz Carpenter once said, “What a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. You can’t reread a phone call.”
I agree with this statement. I admit, though, that I hardly ever write handwritten letters. It takes time and an email or a text is much more convenient.
Yet, I was confronted with situation when I was selected to serve as an 88Questions Mentor for the Access 88 Project at Ohio State.
My role is to serve as a pen pal to younger students in the Columbus City Schools, offering advice about college. As a pen pal, they encourage that I write handwritten letters. After writing the letters, I realized how personal and cathartic letter-writing is and how much we have forgotten about it.
I know that Winter Break is coming to a close (less than a week away!) so I thought I would suggest something to students (or to anyone, really).
Write a letter to someone you care about.
Maybe when you have some downtime back at your dorm, you can write a letter to a friend at home or in another college or to a teacher in high school to update them on what you’re doing.
Whoever receives the letter will appreciate the personal gesture and hopefully, it is a therapeutic and relaxing activity for yourself.
I know that I’m going to try and write more letters (it’s one of my New Year’s resolutions).
*Quote from “Quote Garden”: http://www.quotegarden.com/letters.html
Advice, Author, Relaxation, Stress