Love Letters

There's something about a letter that lights my heart on fire. Letters melt me, and I save them and read them over and over and over again. Even in the e-mail form, I will randomly open up the file and just read it. Very often more than 5 times. There is something about a written word specifically for ME that I can not seperate myself from. Be it 5 words, be it 2 pages, I can not get enough of letters.
Ever since I was young I would always check the mail--hoping for something in there with my name on it.
I have, with the advances of technology, become a compulsive e-mail checker. I check my email probably over a hundred times a day. Each time just hoping that somebody has written me something. Whether it's Kara with a "Hey! I miss you!" or my mom with a 3 paragraph e-mail written with every grammatical and spelling error known to man just to freak me out. A note to say good morning, or have a great day. I save them all, and read them all day long.

I know many people who don't like written communication, because they can't know the inflection or it seems so impersonal. But I think it's just the opposite. I think that in writing lies the real truths of someone's heart. It's one way to know people most deeply, and to build the words in the way they will best convey exactly what those truths are.
If you've ever been moved by the words of a song, you can understand the impact words can have.
If you've ever gotten goosebumps while reading a story, or painted a picture with only words, you can see the power of language.
If you've ever smiled at a letter from a friend because you can just imagine him or her telling you (and probably acting out) the story right before your eyes...

Writing can be impersonal. We're taught in school to make it formal. So break those rules once you graduate, for goodness sake! Write what you think, and when you think it. Share it with people who can use it to know you.
I tell you what, you're probably not going to know me very well by just talking to me.
You're going to know me by reading things I've written.
You're going to know me by the letters I write to you.

I think if somebody is trying to be known, one of the best ways he or she can do it is to communicate it in written form.
The thing that I need to remember is that not everybody can understand everything about a person from letters on a page, though. Not everybody can understand the inflection, or the joy, or the pain, or the love, or the laughter by just reading the words.
Some people need to meet you.
To see you.
To touch you.
And so while you may have shared everything you possibly could have shared, not everybody is going to get it. And so you've got to talk on the phone sometimes. Or meet up somewhere. Sometimes you have to go out of your way to keep up with people, or you're going to lose them for good.
In a perfect world, the written word would be good enough. We could hang on every word, and know every intimate detail from the intimate little letters of everyday life.

But the world is far from perfect, and for some people a book of love letters isn't always enough. But I will keep writing.
And I will cherish words written to and for me.
And I will learn and know you more through your words.