In making this argument, I risk sounding like your disgruntled 70-year-old grandmother who scolds you for texting at the dinner table, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.

Well into the twenty-first century, in a year where there are scarcely any 90s kids left in high schools and no one under the age of 18 has heard of a VHS tape, writing a letter by hand and using the US postal system are outdated notions.

Nowadays when I say letter writing, our generation thinks of the “open letters” that suffocate blogs everywhere or the cover letter emailed to an employer for a last minute grab at having a job after graduation.

However, what I’m talking about is the pen-to-paper, licking-a-weird-tasting-envelope, and paying-49-cents-for-a-stamp kind of letter writing.

In our modern and technologically obsessed society where you can communicate through text, e-mail, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and loads of other social media platforms instantly, controversy has sparked from the loss of direct, face-to-face human communication, while letter writing has quietly died out with very little protest.

The reason for this is easy to surmise: to even send a letter to a neighboring city or county in your own state, it often takes at least three or four days to get to its destination.

Then, even if the person gets a response back in the mail the same day, it takes another three to four days for you to receive it.

So, best case scenario, you receive a response within a week.

Obviously, this is not practical for our busy schedules – we need immediate responses to questions and concerns so that we can get on with whatever we need to do.

For this reason, I’m grateful for the technology we have.

I would agree that the more pressing problem that we encounter in the face of our modern technology is the loss of human faces.

That being said, while some may consider the notion of ‘snail mail’ as nostalgic and possibly useless, I believe letter writing captures a sense of commitment and kindness that often fails to translate through technology.

I started writing letters at a very young age as a way to keep in contact with two of my aunts who live out of state and we’ve continued the tradition to this day.

We exchange fun stationery, handmade greeting cards, photos, and most importantly, updates on life and personal anecdotes.

I haven’t seen either of my aunts for years, but I still feel connected to them despite such long absences.

Since moving to college, I’ve expanded the tradition to include my friends from high school who all went in different directions.

I’ve used letters to keep in contact with one of my best friends who I met while I was abroad.

I even managed to convince my boyfriend to participate in the most old-fashioned means of communication while he was abroad; I think he may have even liked it a little.

However, letter writing isn’t only to keep in touch with those you don’t see very often – these small reminders that someone cares can also come from roommates or parents whom you see on a regular basis and still be just as powerful.

As an overwhelmed college student, it’s easy to get caught up in the stresses of everyday life and the mountains of reading and exams around every corner; but think about opening your mailbox to see a letter from family or friends – it serves as a reminder that there are people who care about you and are there to offer encouragement and support which will probably put a smile on your face, and maybe even give you the boost you need to tackle that ten-page paper.

While friends can just send you a text to ask how your day is going and moms can just call for your birthday, there’s something extra special about receiving a card or letter in the mail.

It shows that this person feels that you are worth the time it takes to sit down and write a letter, you are worth the cost of envelopes and stamps, and you are worth the wait of a response.

A text or snapchat just doesn’t carry the same weight.

Letter writing doesn’t have to be lost in the past with the traditions of quill pens and messy ink splats.

You don’t have to write pages of romantic ponderings like some nineteenth century poet or make up rhymes like a hallmark greeting card. All you need is a pen, a piece of paper, and the address of someone you care about.