The definition of a letter, according to dictionary.com, is “a written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usually transmitted by mail.” This being said, as we move into the 21^st century, it seems as if letters will soon become a thing of the past.

With so many people using the internet for email, cell phones for text messaging, and house phones for calling, there is hardly a reason for people to even write letters anymore. And while some may argue that this is a good thing—not writing letters is saving both paper and gas money—there is also a feeling of loss when considering the fact that writing letters may soon become a lost cause.

To stop this from happening, more people are starting to acquire pen pals. There is a website called Military Pen Pal, where people can go online and find someone who is in the military to write letters to and to send care packages to as well. There is also a website called WriteAPrisoner.com, where people can write letters to the inmates. Having a prisoner as a pen pal may sound uninviting, but it can actually benefit our society in the long run; because the prisoners have more of an incentive to get out of jail and do better in society after corresponding with people outside of jail.

Students at PC also have pen pals of their own. Freshman Lauren Bazemore writes letters to her friends and family on a weekly basis. She says she enjoys writing letters because, “I feel like it gives a personal touch and shows that someone cares about what is going on in your everyday life. It requires more effort, so it shows people that you were worth the effort of writing a letter to, as opposed to a text message or an email.”

Pen pals are a great way to be more personal and show people that you really care. Students always get excited when they get letters or care packages, because who doesn’t like to open a letter? It is always a great feeling not knowing what the letters contains before opening it.
And while opening a letter is always a great feeling, writing one can be even better! Bazemore says she writes “two or three letters a week!” and she enjoys writing every single one.

As we move towards a world where everything is based off of technology, it is important to still show people that we care and to be real towards others. Sending someone a letter—whether it be a short one to just say hey or a long one to tell that person what is going on in your life—will always put a smile on someone’s face.

Works Cited for my Article:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/letter
http://militarypenpal.tripod.com/
http://www.writeaprisoner.com/