What ever happened to old fashioned letters?

I grew up in a time where computers were just starting and I had a friend who moved over to the U.S. One of the fun things exchanging letters is that you are excited every time mail comes in. Also, I enjoyed the stationery that she would use and I would go out of my way to look for pretty stationeries also. Nowadays, I don't have the time to write letters and mail them to my friend.

I used to have lots of pen pals when I was younger and my best friend and I used to write long and winding letters to each other. Nowadays, it's easier to communicate via modern technology, but sometimes I do miss the long writing sessions I used to embark on. It had a certain physical quality to it that typing something simple hasn't.

But... I type a lot faster than I can write longhand, so I've adapted to the change. Modern communication is simply faster and that does have its perks.

I SMS, I send e-mails, but sometimes I still practice writing letters--even notepassing in class helps. I don't want technology to dominate my life; I still have a brain that needs to work.

I grew up in an era before the invention of the Apple, so it was snail mail or perhaps a phone call. I think it is becoming a lost art form. Most students today cannot even tell you the parts of a letter, or the types of letters you might write. And, receiving a thank you note is almost unheard of now adays. I think that even though electronic communication is wonderful, it is also taking away from communication. I know that I enjoy receiving a handwritten letter that I knew took time to pen and compose.

I love writing letters and am in the practice of writing them at least twice per week - I have one penpal in Louisiana, and one in Washington. I love sending letters out as much as I love receiving them. I have another friend who would like to start writing to me, as well, and I say the more the merrier! I wish more people would write and send letters out, rather than communicating through texting or email, because I think they'd find a lot more gratification. That's just my opinion, though.:0)

I remember when I was a kid I would write letters to my cousin, older sister, and grandmother and really enjoyed the process of sending and receiving letters. It can indeed be nice for communication not to be so instant. However, I don't have too much nostalgia for postal letters, mainly because it can be very difficult to decipher handwriting. Now while you could print or type letters and then mail them, that really takes away the personal feel of the letter and sort of defeats the whole point. Email may be impersonal, but at least it's easy to read!