letters

The person I chose to write a letter to via snail mail was my best friend’s mom, who has always been a supportive and caring person in my life. My best friend and I played on the same soccer team which was a competitive traveling team. It was expensive and many times my twin sister and I couldn’t afford to go to California, Texas, or Arizona for the prestigious tournaments. I don’t know how exactly but Sue, my friend’s mom, always managed to get enough money donated from businesses to go. On top of that she made sure that we always had enough money to eat and if we didn’t then she would give us some just in case. I see writing a formal letter and actually sending it through the mail as a big deal and so I chose someone who was important enough to meet the description. I feel that everything is done electronically now so its extra special when someone actually takes the time to write something by hand, put a stamp on it, address it, and put it in the mailbox. I wanted her to feel that emotion when she received my letter. I made sure that I proofread everything and that my writing was clear and legible. I even picked out nice paper from Kinkos.

Like I said earlier I see snail mail as being more formal so in my letter I wasn’t just writing to say hi or catch up, I was writing saying that I really appreciated all her support when I was younger and that if it weren’t for people like her then I wouldn’t be where I am today. In addition I wrote on some memories from the past, and of things yet to come. I put a lot of thought into the letter and didn’t mail it out until it was perfect. It took me three drafts until I was ready to send it out. I was a little nervous and anxious if I was going to get a reply.

The letter I wrote via email was to my sister who is currently is living in Arizona and attending UofA. She is an inspiration in my life because she pushes me to study hard and accomplish my goals. Education has always been a priority in her life and I admire that trait about her. I am currently trying harder in school to make her proud. I know it means a lot to her for me to graduate. My letter to her was much different than my letter to Sue. It was less structured and had humor. I didn’t worry about my spelling as much, just as long as it made sense. The language I used was more laid back and age specific instead of formal. I used acronyms at times and used an inappropriate word once or twice. Even though my content was serious my tone was much more laid back. I wasn’t as tense when I wrote the letter to her as I was when I wrote it to sue. Obviously my intended audience had a lot to do with that, but also the fact that email is so easily accessible and easy to use makes sending letters through it less formal. If it wasn’t so quick and easy then I would put more effort into it. I think a lot of people would.

My letter to my sister was sent instantly and she wrote back to me the next day. I have written her back twice since then and it usually only takes her a day or two to respond. On the other hand the letter I wrote to Sue I didn’t get a response to until a few days ago and I sent it about a week and a half ago. Hers was equally as formal as mine except her handwriting was a little nicer. She said that she really liked the gesture and that she valued the effort that I put into sending her a letter.

In Chapter 5 of Wood and Smith it talks about how CMC plays a role in one’s well being. I think that being able to write letters via email and communicate with others in real time can have positive and negative effects on people. It could be used to bring people closer together but it also could be used as a tool to write letters to strangers, create viruses, have an online affair, and take away from other positive aspects of your life. You have to make sure that the reason in which you are choosing to communicate online are healthy and sound. Its so important to be aware that at any time you could be sucked into the online realm. People sometimes forget the old ways of doing things. Writing a letter via snail mail might actually be better because overall it takes away less of your life writing letters and gives you more time to do other things you like. For example instead of checking your emails daily and responding to others which could take hours you wait a few days until you get a response via snail mail and respond whenever you have the time.