Ancient? Hand-written Letters

Hand-written Letters

It is 2017. There have been revolutionary technological changes in the past century. New items are constantly being developed, and there are early adopters who quickly accept the changes and apply them in their lives.

I believe we all benefit from the advancements of technology and can agree on how different phone applications made our lives so much easier. Gone are the days when I used to print maps and directions off MapQuest and try to picture the steps to my destination. GPS built in smartphone can now even calculate the traffic and re-route you if you make  wrong exit. With smart phone, we can call an Uber driver with simply punching in our location, "seamless" a take-out dinner delivery to our home, and streamline movies and our favorite TV shows on the subway!

I am a huge smartphone addict, and I feel insecure without it. I have become so dependent on my phone that I check my phone every so often even when it did not buzz. I am a big texter as well. There are so many free texts & call applications with cute emoticons, and I can easily send messages to my friend who lives on the other side of the world. The convenience and entertainment they brought to our lives are ginormous, and I truly appreciate these innovative changes. However, there are few things I miss about the analog times before everything became digitalized.

As much as I enjoy texting people, I enjoy handwriting letters (and receiving them of course!). I am not a laggard or someone who is secretly from the years of dinosaurs, but I believe there are arts and beauty to handwriting a letter. And those are the same reasons I love receiving those letters. I don't think anyone can necessarily say communications are more efficient with handwritten letters because texts or emails are definitely faster and avoid confusion from messy handwritings!

For me, the hand-written letters carry more lasting impact and ties sentimental and fond memories. When I receive one, it makes me happy to think about the person's taking their time to write for me. It is definitely a slower process and more labor-intensive, but it connects my mind to the tip of the pen one word by word. I actually tend think a lot more about the recipients and the memories I shared with them as I write my letters. It conveys how much I care for them. This belief may not hold for everyone, and there are people who believe in the efficiency and convenience of electronic communication. Well, at least for me, I will continue to write hand-written letters to my loved ones and continue to express my care and love for them (via this ancient way...or I might just be a stubborn, ancient laggard).