Sunday, April 10, 2011

100 reasons to snail mail #1

FRIENDSHIP

Our hobby of penpalling is often considered by people as something weird, out of this world, impractical and above all a waste of time. A hobby doesn’t need to be useful of course but penpalling is much more than just a hobby and I can find hundreds of advantages of snail mail!

The first and the most important one is friendship. Many people think that it’s impossible to be friends with someone living hundreds, maybe even thousands of kilometers away who you have never met. Probably every snail mailer experienced a skeptical look when telling about a friend in some other country or city with whom they only have contact through letters. People think it’s not a real friend, just some person somewhere you know. Nothing serious. But friendship this way is possible and it’s actually a big part of penpalling. Writing letters is something very personal. It’s almost impossible to write only about trivial things. Letters are like discussions, they only take place on paper. You share good and bad moments of life, sometimes some things are easier to put on paper than say aloud and therefore I’d risk the statement that the friendship is born even faster than in a “normal” way. And it can last for many many years.

 [photo source]

 If you're into penpalling and want to share your experiences in your blog according today's reason, please link back here and make a comment that you made an entry :)

5 comments:

  1. I'd love for you to set this up so that we can take part in it with you... 100 reasons to snail mail sounds fun.

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  2. wow, 100 reasons?? I'm looking forward to those posts ^.^ I totally sign the first one! I call my close penpals 'friends' and that's it... There is no need to specify whether we're writing letters or have other kinds of communication...I don't feel that the penpals who have been faithful and loyal, open-minded and willing to share through the years are any less my friends as the ones I can meet in person... I also think that opportunities for deep talks are rather rare in 'real life', but in letters they're always available, you just need to take them!

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  3. "Letters are like discussions, they only take place on paper" <-- I loooved this sentence!! =D

    Estaré atenta a leer las 99 razones que faltan °u°

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  4. i sometimes have a feeling that my only true friends are my penpals. I feel comfortable with them, It's so easy to share hopes and dreams and fears with them. I always enjoy reading their responses and they give me another view on things I found hard to overcome but with their support and views the obstacles seem small and I get over them easily. I can't imagine pouring my heart and soul to a person in front of me (I do share things with my "real life" friends, but by far not as much as I do with my dearest and closest penpals. They are my true friends even if I don't meet them for a coffee every Friday or talk with them for hours on the phone. but they are in my thoughts all the time - when something happens I catch myself thinking: I have to tell this to N. Or I go shopping and see somehing one of my penpals would like I buy it and send it their wy on their birthday or Christmas. They truly are a big part of my life.

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  5. You probably already know what I think about it and you explain it very well, so I would just add that yes, it's possible and it is beautiful and who doesn't has that chance doesn't know what is missing. In the other hands it's a pity to see people who has the chance to go deeper into a beautiful friendship because they are too lazy to try that, or too superficial to at least have the good sense to write a proper missive.

    Love,
    Joana

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