Penpal Via Handwritten Letters

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Are penpals worth the special effort?

  • Totally worth it

    Votes: 13 81.3%

  • Not at all

    Votes: 3 18.8%
  • Total voters
    16
I

Iokua08

Guest
#1
#1
What are the guidelines when it comes to penpals? Its a risk giving out your address to someone you hardly know. Do you really get to know someone else and make friends? I want to penpal with someone, I find handwritten letters to be special, but people rely too much on technology being that it is quick and efficient. I've been finding it hard to find a reliable yet interesting penpal. If you guys know any websites or other resources that I could look into I'd appreciate it. Or maybe you would like to volunteer to become my penpal that would be awesome!
 
grace

grace

Senior Member
#2
Sep 8, 2006
1,064
11
0
51
#2
This site has a *sister* site of christian pen pals.

I agree with you that hand written letters are very special and a lost art.

The guy I am seeing is long distance...and he wanted us to wite letters to each other. There is something almost magical upon opening my mail box and finding a letter from him...knowing that I will get to read something that he took the time with pen and paper to tell me. AND...your right, technology makes it so easy to keep in touch...that with writing letter you have to be even more creative because often you have already talked to the person via MSN, or the phone etc and are up to date on certain things.

I think it is great that you are wanting to exchange letters with someone like that. I hope you find some interesting and fun people to do that wth. :)
 
C

christiancollegegirl

Guest
#3
#3
Me and my boyfriend wrote back and forth during the summer when we didn't have much internet access. I always got a special chill when I saw his handwriting on the envelope.
 
seoulsearch

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
#4
May 23, 2009
14,944
4,589
113
#4
Iokua08 said:
What are the guidelines when it comes to penpals? Its a risk giving out your address to someone you hardly know. Do you really get to know someone else and make friends? I want to penpal with someone, I find handwritten letters to be special, but people rely too much on technology being that it is quick and efficient. I've been finding it hard to find a reliable yet interesting penpal. If you guys know any websites or other resources that I could look into I'd appreciate it. Or maybe you would like to volunteer to become my penpal that would be awesome!
Click to expand...

You really have some awesome posts and threads!!!

I love having regular, old-fashioned snail-mail pen pals and have been writing letters since I was 9 years old. Other people seem to be gifted at writing books, stories, and articles... for me, letters are a personal specialty ;). Or at least, in my own mind. :) I enjoy doing corny things like decorating the envelopes and so forth as well. There is nothing like sending and receiving "real", paper-and-ink letters (though I do enjoy email as well... but it just doesn't have that personal touch.)

I have also been able to meet a few of my pen pals over the years--one in Colorado, one from Japan (she came to my wedding and brought her best friend, but we lost touch after my divorce--I'm not sure if it was because of that or not), and another in Indiana (who is the only one I still write to--the others just faded away over time).

Facebook also allowed me to reconnect with a pen pal in Indonesia I hadn't communicated with since I was in my early 20's.

People come and go from life, and it does take a bit of extra work, but I've found pen pal friendships to be abundantly rewarding in all stages of my life.

I hope there are others out there who feel the same way!
 
M

Matthew

Guest
#5
#5
I have always liked the idea of letter pen-pals, I was always attacted by the idea that it is a way to find support from someone and form a great relationship that has unique qualities that no other type of relationship has, but with the advent of technology it is something that seems to be considered a thing of the past.

I think instant communication on the internet is a good thing, as are forums like this one where communites can develop, but they have blossomed at the expense of other things and sometimes instant communication online can fast track relationships because witihin minutes you can exchange all basic information regarding family, friends, interests, pictures etc...and there is none of the thrill of expectation and no real time in-between to absorb the information and get excited about the next message.

There is the risk I suppose giving your information to a stranger but that would not put me off personally, there is a type of risk associated whenever you seek to reach out to someone you do not know and try to establish a relationship with them, my view is that it is worth the risk for what you may gain, and you can always be a little cautious in the early stages while you each gain eachother's confidence.
 
Sharp

Sharp

Senior Member
#6
May 5, 2009
2,565
20
38
#6
I voted no because I don't trust the postal system not to read or tamper with my mail. I also wouldn't want people in my house to know I was receiving letters.
 
W

wwjd_kilden

Guest
#7
#7
! What kind of people are you living with?
 
Sharp

Sharp

Senior Member
#8
May 5, 2009
2,565
20
38
#8
People who notice things. All the mail I get is from institutions - banks, charities, government, etc. If I got a letter with handwriting on it, there would be questions and curiousity. And that's enough to deter me from ever wanting to have a penpal.
 
W

wwjd_kilden

Guest
#9
#9
lol

just make them print out the envelope from their printer :p
 
C

christiancollegegirl

Guest
#10
#10
That's a reasonable idea. They can also print official looking return address lables. All the people in the youse would start wonderng why the Lawnmowers club or the Concerned Pets for the Proper Praparaton of Meals is sending him mail.
 
W

wwjd_kilden

Guest
#11
#11
lol, we should get his address and send him those
 
C

christiancollegegirl

Guest
#12
#12
lol! Do you think he'd give it to us?
 
seoulsearch

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
#13
May 23, 2009
14,944
4,589
113
#13
Sharp said:
People who notice things. All the mail I get is from institutions - banks, charities, government, etc. If I got a letter with handwriting on it, there would be questions and curiousity. And that's enough to deter me from ever wanting to have a penpal.
Click to expand...

Ha ha ha Sharp... when you said, "All the mail I get is from institutions," I was thinking of the kind that clothe their residents in particular attire (i.e., straight jackets.)

I thought, "Sharp keeps getting solicitations from mental institutions?!"

Don't feel bad--I once got some sort of solicitation from some kind of Obesity Support Group or something... I remember thinking, "Sure, I'd love to lose 10 pounds, but this is HARSH."
 
Christianrkchk89

Christianrkchk89

Senior Member
#15
Aug 27, 2005
1,282
12
38
34
#15
I'm alwayz hopeful I have something in the mail when I go out to the mailbox. Letters are so awesome! :) ..therefore penpals are great too! haha
 
I

Iokua08

Guest
#16
#16
Thanks guys for your post.....HAHA, sort of funny.....But I sort of get what Sharp is saying though. In my current household, it would be strange to receive handwritten mail from a stranger, well not to me, but getting something like that and someone in my family seeing it, especially my sisters and brothers, would cause sort of some unwanted attention. I guess it could be compared to meeting someone online or something. You know that level of intimacy. But ultimately, it would be my business, and I won't shy away from being out loud about other people mining their own, LOL.
Hey Check out my new thread about receiving weird, or funny mails in your mail boxes!
 
Sharp

Sharp

Senior Member
#17
May 5, 2009
2,565
20
38
#17
123 Fake Street.

Just like in the simpsons, hahaha.
 
I

Iokua08

Guest
#18
#18
Hey Sharp, where are you from anyway? No I don't mean your address......LOL
 
C

ChristopherMichael

Guest
#19
#19
Iokua08 said:
What are the guidelines when it comes to penpals? Its a risk giving out your address to someone you hardly know. Do you really get to know someone else and make friends? I want to penpal with someone, I find handwritten letters to be special, but people rely too much on technology being that it is quick and efficient. I've been finding it hard to find a reliable yet interesting penpal. If you guys know any websites or other resources that I could look into I'd appreciate it. Or maybe you would like to volunteer to become my penpal that would be awesome!
Click to expand...
I think you've just got to be careful about investing a lot in the relationship, cause you don't really know them and all. I mean, if you springboard from there to a real life meeting or something, that's different.

Yeah, I used christianpenpals.com, a sister site of CC. It worked really well, but be picky about who you want to talk with or you'll be inundated by friendly dudes from the Philippines and India. Not that there's anything wrong with that, if that's what you're looking for, but I've always found being penpals with guys really weird, unless it's my Dad or something. And even then, only if one of us is deployed or something, or back when I was a kid.

God bless you,
- Topher
 
B

buckeyegirl700

Guest
#20
#20
I voted yes for pen pals, but now I think maybe not.
 
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