A Step Towards Simpler Times

I've always wanted a pen pal. I was introduced to the concept around second grade or so, and I loved it. We would send letters back and forth to someone from another school, but the forced conversation was impossible to enjoy. What I wanted was a real penpal, someone I could exchange handwritten thoughts with. I wanted the experience of eagerly awaiting by the mailbox for the next installment of "Letters from [location]."

Well, now one of my good friends, who's currently living in Abu Dhabi, has unwittingly allowed me to subject him to my stream-of-consciousness via prose. And who knows through where that stream has meandered? I almost feel like I should've been kinder and warned him of the letters that he'll be receiving.

I am very excited at the prospect of receiving snail mail, though. I still think the handwritten letter is the most personal form of communication. Even face-to-face conversations don't compare to the written words on a page. So much more time and effort goes into crafting the traditional letter. Every sentence is given more consideration than the typical spoken or typed ones, mostly because there's no going back after it's down on paper. Sure, if you're writing in pencil, you can try to erase it. But even after erasing, the graphite will leave a ghost of the old message. And it's even harder to make your words disappear when writing in pen. You can either cross the error out and leave a hideous mark on the page or you can mask it with whiteout but leave behind a crude sign basically advertising the fact that you made a mistake.

It'll be good. It's time I took some time to myself and composed something meaningful. I don't do much art anymore, and aside from the occasional blog post, I feel like I don't have as many opportunities to express myself. And any news from Abu Dhabi is good news :)