Dear Blog Universe,
I had a realization this morning that my letter writing skills have been dying a slow painful death. I grew up writing letters. I would write to my Grandparents from camp in the summer. My best friend from childhood and I would exchange postcards when we went on vacation or for no reason at all. As I got older, I had friends who would spend summers with one of their divorced parents. For the 9 months of the year that my friends lived somewhere else, we would exchange letters. For a few years it was an extraordinary correspondence. Dozens of letters sent over a thousand miles catching up on the trials and tribulations of middle school life and later high school. There were numerous pen-pals: Tashkent and Moscow (Russia), Nigeria, England...pictures, currency, letters. The experience of writing to people who were learning English was enlightening and getting to see inside the lives of people around the world was an amazing experience for me as a teenager. It granted me humility and an awareness beyond my little corner of the Pacific Northwest.
As email replaced letter writing, I remember looking forward to seeing what was in the inbox. It was a fast and gratifying way to connect- even check in quickly. Even a short note provided a connection that didn't require a stamp- just a dial up connection. When I went away to college it became a lifeline to home- less than long distance phone rates- and my parents could keep tabs on me with out much effort. Email became a lifeline to everyone. "Email me" replaced call me in many instances. It was nice to wake up, make coffee, and answer email from friends and family in the morning. It was easy to feel connected. This correspondence had replaced letter writing for the most part in my life. If I had only known what was to come.
In the last few years a phrase I have made my peace with replaced "email me"...TEXT ME! Technology has evolved at lightning speeds. Cell phones- the computer of the 21st century-have had such an impact on the written language, it is disheartening for this English teacher. The nice part of email had been that it could be short or long- and the longer letters were filled with life and sharing. With text messaging the letter became a 140 character message, a new kind of short hand exploded into the scene. As a teacher, having to give the disclaimer that "texting talk" can not be used in formal writing for class, has been frustrating at times. I now teach about code switching-the art of knowing your audience and changing the codes we use depending on the audience we are talking with or writing for/to. My own texting has got to an embarrassing place. I will text my husband when we are at opposite ends of the house to see what he wants to do for dinner. When did I get to this place? When did texting and tweeting replace human contact or even simply the intimacy that a hand written letter provides?
In January of this year, while administering an exam for my students, the listening passage the students had to take notes on was a selection from an article that an Abagail Adams biographer had written, reflecting on the importance and process of discovery through the letters of Adams to her husband John. It has stayed with me, even 6 months later now. I have made a decision. I am going to try writing letters again. I am going to do it here though- as letters to anyone who would like to read. I may write to specific people or places. I may write on personal or public. I may include hand written letters-if I can motivate myself to write them. This is the beginning of my love affair with the letter. Let my year begin.
Yours Truly,
Meredith
