Write this down

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Photo by Mathyas Kurmann

When’s the last time you received a handwritten letter in your physical mailbox? Not a thank you card or an invitation, but some honest to goodness correspondence? You may not remember, what with so many more convenient messaging options at your disposal, but that’s the magic of a letter. It’s the effort required. It’s the personal touch—question marks you trace several times over, an underlined word, maybe a doodle in the margins.

As a child of emails and IMs, I don’t send a ton of mail myself, but I’m always good for a stamp, and I like to collect the postcard that comes with the bill at some restaurants. My only regular correspondence this comes in handy for is a postcard exchange that’s lasted 10+ address changes with my uncle Tom. Regular is a stretch because there’s no set cadence, and not every card necessitates a reply, but the randomness is half the fun.

The other half is the uncertainty. When so many other things can be tracked and verified, it’s refreshing to throw a bottle in the ocean every now and then. Maybe it will get there, maybe it won’t. Maybe you’ll get a reply, but maybe not for months.

If you could use a little uncertainty in your life, pull out a pen and pad. I guarantee you and the recipient will remember this one.