In second grade, we had to learn two things that our teachers stressed would be of the utmost importance when we became adults: cursive and how to mail a letter.
As we have become adults, or at least adults for all intents and purposes, we rarely use these second grade-honed skills.
Personally, I use cursive when I write my rent check. That’s it. As for mailing a letter, it is a quickly dying means of communication that is in need of revival.
The decline of old-fashioned mail correspondence has been made even more evident in recent news, as the U.S. Postal Service has announced it will stop delivering mail on Saturdays.
According to the Postal Service, the volume of mail being sent has decreased by almost 25 percent in the past six years.
This sharp decrease has left the Postal Service operating at a great loss, causing it to make drastic changes in how this 238-year-old independent agency, which was first run by Benjamin Franklin, operates.
The change is likely to cause quite the stir on Capitol Hill regarding the legality of the Postal Service making decisions about delivery schedules without Congressional approval.
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act could also be addressed, an act which mandated that $5.5 billion per year be paid into an account to pre-fund retiree healthcare, 75 years into the future, which has been partially to blame for the drop in revenue.
Aside from the questions the lawmakers have to answer, we have a few to ask ourselves.
When was the last time you wrote someone a letter? When did you last receive a letter from someone?
Is a letter sent via “snail mail” of more importance then a text? How applicable is the mail to our daily lives and to our future?
My second-grade teacher taught us how to write letters and address envelopes using a “Flat Stanley.”
Flat Stanley was a laminated, paper-cut boy whom you mailed to your friend. In turn, your friend would write back and tell you about the adventures that he or she would go on with Flat Stanley.
Around that same time, I moved from Carthage to Hattiesburg, leaving behind my best friend in the whole entire world.
I was devastated.
When our teacher announced the Flat Stanley project, I knew exactly whom I would mail my Stanley to.
Sixteen years later, we are now more like sisters than best friends and will be each other’s maid of honor, all because of a letter.
There is something undeniably special about a letter.
When I check my mail, I am almost overwhelmed by emotion when I see a handwritten letter from a friend or relative among the Papa John’s coupons and endless wedding and shower invitations.
The thought and time that go into a letter speak volumes of the sender and how important the receiver is to them.
In the age of instant communication with emails and text messaging, one rarely thinks to send a “Thank You” or “Get Well” card in the mail, but, boy, does it have an impact when they do.
Even with all of the benefits of technology, one of the best ways to show someone you love them and how much they mean to is to put pen to paper and walk out to your mailbox.
So, I encourage you to think of someone near and dear to you, whether it be your grandmother or childhood best friend, and sit down and write them a letter.
And hopefully they will write back and you will get to experience the joy of receiving an old-fashioned letter in the mail … unless it’s Saturday.
Anna Rush is a second-year law student from Hattiesburg. She graduated from Mississippi State University in 2011. Follow her on Twitter @annakrush.
