Where are the Stamps?
October 3rd, 2025
Writer: Alana Frank
Editor: Megan Lennemann
Coming to school this year, I moved in all alone. I was pretty emotional that my parents weren’t going with me, but I knew that I would be fine. Sitting on the plane with my Biscoff cookies and Diet Coke, I reached for my book in an attempt not to watch Crazy Rich Asians for the hundredth time. As I was flipping through the pages, a small blue envelope fell out with my name written on it. The handwriting I could recognize anywhere as my mother’s, who thought she was so sneaky for stashing the card as my bookmark. One look at the words, “I miss you already,” and I was tearing up next to the poor guy stuck in the middle seat. Sitting there wiping my tears from my cheeks, I asked myself, Why don’t we write cards anymore? Does no one else get excited to open an envelope on their birthday (and I am not just referring to the possibility of money being in there)? No? Just me? Glad to know that I am just a nostalgic girl born in the wrong generation at this point.
But in all seriousness, I LOVE letters. I love writing them. I love getting them in the mail. I even love picking out stationery and deciding whether to use a pen or pencil, which, in my humble opinion, is a very crucial decision. This deep love for letters is something I have had ever since I was a kid, which I don’t think is going away anytime soon. Throughout my life, I have kept all the birthday cards, thank-you notes, and even the Post-its my mom left me in my lunches in a big box under my bed. Whenever I felt sad or nostalgic, I would reach for my most prized possessions. These little pieces of paper all looked so unassuming, but were a reminder of something much bigger: the love that my friends and family all have for me.
Writing a letter to someone is honestly a love confession. Sure, you might write a thank-you card for the gift your grandparents gave you that you secretly hated just because your mom forced you to, but I guarantee at least some small part of it was earnest. I can also guarantee that nothing compared to the smile on your grandparents’ faces when they read that card.
Taking the time to sit down and write out your feelings for a person might be the most vulnerable some of us will ever be. Whenever I sit down to write a birthday card for a close friend or family member, I turn as poetic as a wife writing to her lover who is at war. Yes, it is that serious for me. Years ago, you would have to wait weeks to get letters. You couldn't just call someone up or send a Snapchat message, but that was the beauty of it. Someone cared so deeply about you to send that letter, no matter how far away you were, and you cared just as much to wait for it to arrive. If that isn’t poetic as hell, then I don’t know what is.
