i sent a letter today
Today, I wrote to my penpal for the first time in maybe 3 or 4 years. I'd intended to write to her a few times through that gap, even wrote some letters that I never sent. Today however, I wrote down 2 pages essentially re-introducing myself, stamped it, and dropped it in the mailbox.
When I first wrote to her, I was 13 or 14, right at the start of COVID. I had been bored in the house and wanted any kind of communication that wasn't online, even if it was still by a written medium. There is also something simply alluring about saying you know someone from far away, only by letter. Since writing to her, I've finished high school, and now my first year of architecture school. Needless to say, we have a lot of catching up to do.
I wrote a manifesto last night in my journal for the summer of 3 simple points I must uphold for myself:
- To keep my room and spaces clean (intangible spaces as well)
- To take a bike ride or walk (10000 steps) every day
- To create one thing every day, no matter how big or small
Keeping in line with these hasn't been too difficult, given I biked to the postal box. I think as I've been diving deeper into my emailing adventure and now getting back into writing letters, I've really started to realize just how much connections and relationships matter in my life. Over the last few months, I made a connection with someone at my school that I very well may never see again due to them being an exchange student, and in the wake of losing them, I see just how much I had put aside previously in the prioritization of my work pursuits (ie. academics, writing, art).
I have since come to the realization that one of the best ways I connect with others is by creating for them, whereas I've previously (for the most part) only created for myself. With these exchange students (there were two!) I gave away trinkets that I'd carried with me for years, I wrote letters, drew sketches of them. I've also sketched my studio friends more than I've drawn anything else this year. I've really found a joy in making for others, and being able to do that feels almost more like a gift to myself than them. There's a certain catharsis of channeling your love for someone into something more tangible like a doodle or a note.
As I dive more into my journey of slow communication (feel free to send me an email if you're interested as well, always looking for like-minded people!), I will definitely hold these revelations in mind.