I spring cleaned my room yesterday, and part of that process involved travelling back in time as I sat down to sort through the boxes and bags upon boxes and bags of letters I have accumulated over the years.

I was that nerdy home school girl who got very involved in letter-writing from a young age. In fact, I still have some of those very early letters, perhaps even the first one. I can't be quite positive about which is the first letter I ever received, but I do know that I have some that date back to when I was probably 8 or so.

Anywho, to get back on track...
As I sorted through these letters, throwing out the ones from girls I hadn't heard from in years (and who weren't very close to me...there are some letters that I'll keep from gals I haven't heard from in years because they're just that kind of friend. They're letters that are much too memorable to throw away), and wrapping elastic bands around the ones I decided to keep, I realized something...

Ever since I was very little, I have always loved writing. I remember my first story and the excitement of writing that I discovered! The thrill, the absolute italic-of-the-Emily-books kind of thrill, that I would get whenever I would receive a letter in the mail. Every Sabbath that we would meet, my lil friend Genny (who is not quite so little anymore) and I would exchange notes and stories and colored pictures. In my early teens, I even boasted having 50+ penpals at one time. But it wasn't just the love of writing or the excitement of getting a letter...it was the words. The dear, sweet, funny, loving words exchanged.

I have since discovered and looked into that whole other home school craze: the 5 Love Languages. :P Oh, c'mon, you know all us home schoolers are into that whole personality thing. What I discovered was that one of my strongest love languages is "words of affirmation". It shouldn't be a surprise because I've always loved words, loved reading, and feeling the beauty of them. The colors that I see, the powerfulness of words...I am more likely to cry over a book than I am over a movie.
Words...it's how I met my best friends, it's how a boy won my heart over, it's how I express myself better than any other way, and it's where I go to escape the world of reality. Words can hurt and lift me in a way that nothing else can.

Letters reveal a part of someone that I can understand better than if I were just people-watching. I don't necessarily notice the details of someone's body the way Sherlock Holmes can. Instead I read their words, and I feel like I know them better that way, because it is personal, it is private...letters are something that is just between me and the person writing back.

You want to know how to win over the heart of Sam? Write her a letter. (Heck, emails work too, but they're not nearly as unique or exciting as snail mail.)