Overview/Introduction: 

In exploring analog objects, I chose to focus on something deeply personal—my relationship with my Nana. We’ve been close since I was a young girl, and during quarantine, we developed a tradition of daily phone calls. Now that I’m away at school, we haven’t been able to talk as much as I’d like, but we’ve established a new routine of Wednesday afternoon calls. I go for a walk and chat with her, updating her all about my friends and classes, and she talks about her and the family. We easily go on for over an hour, sometimes even reaching the two-hour mark when the family drama gets intriguing. 

While I love my phone calls and occasional texts with Nana, I miss our in-person talks with one another. She’s familiar with messaging on her iPhone, but Facetime is something completely out of her field of expertise. As an alternative, I thought sending her a letter would be a heartwarming surprise for her to open in the mail. I would be able to express my love and appreciation for her not only in spoken words but in the form of a handmade letter. When doing this, I wondered how creatively I could formulate these terms of endearment for her. Will using a single 8.5 x 11 paper limit how much I can write to her? Will my handwriting be too illegible for her? Should I make my handwriting larger knowing that she cannot read that well? Should I include small drawings in the letter? I hoped that after completing this experiment, I would find answers to all of these questions and discover a new form of communicating with Nana that goes beyond digital interaction. To measure the practicality of communicating through letters, in addition to our weekly chats, I asked Nana how she felt about opening the letter when she initially received it. With no surprise, she was thrilled to find her heartfelt message in her mailbox. 

Observations:

The first obstacle I came across in this experiment was putting ink on paper. Between my stubborn writer’s block and the fear of not being able to erase my mistakes, it took me a while to even begin my letter. I can think of endless ways to describe my love for my Nana off the top of my head, but having to put those thoughts into physical words posed a challenge I didn’t think I’d come across. I was easily able to write birthday and Christmas cards to relatives in the past without hesitation, but now I was struggling to write an opener to my letter. Was this a creative block I had developed since being at school? Have I fallen into the comfort of typing everything on the computer without giving the delete bar and auto-correct a second thought? After these anxious thoughts left my mind, I knew I had to start writing soon and stop overthinking this task. At the end of the day, I was writing a personal message to Nana, and she was aware of how much I loved her. Anyway I express that to her would be greatly appreciated. 

So I began writing. Instantly, I noticed that because I was writing in a letter format, I felt the need to sound very articulate and formal. I tried looking past this and began my letter with “To my Bestie”, a term we call each other whenever we’re together. The words that came after that opening statement flowed so freely on the page. It felt as if I was speaking right next to her at her small kitchen table. I was nervous that I would misspell or run out of space for some of my words, but writing on the paper allowed my thoughts to run cohesively onto the paper. 

Overall, I was very satisfied with what I was able to write on my own. I usually rely on programs like Grammarly to autocorrect and rephrase my writing for emails and school assignments. However, I appreciated that those resources weren’t available to me during this experiment. I feel that it would take away from the intimacy of my written letter, almost in the sense that essays written with ChatAI lose their authenticity. I knew that filling the paper with my original thoughts and handwriting would be a precious gift to surprise Nana with. I ended the letter with our special goodbye to one another and dropped my pen in satisfaction. 

People have always told me how admiring my relationship with Nana is. We’re able to talk to each other multiple times a week and treat each other like we are inseparable friends. I’m aware that some people my age are forced by their parents to speak to their grandparents and are praised when doing it. However, speaking to Nana has always been effortless for me. It never felt like a chore to pick up the phone with her or to go to her house to chat. When writing this letter, I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride that I’ve never felt when ending a conversation with her. I believe that is because I worked on something so meaningful for her and I was thrilled for her to receive it.

Unlike sending an email or using the phone, I needed to physically send Nana her letter through the mail. Luckily, I had envelopes and stamps in my room that I was able to use. It had been so long since I sent a physical message to someone that I Googled how to properly format the stamp and the recipient’s address on the front of the envelope. I felt embarrassed that I even had to do that, forgetting something so simple yet lost in memory. The convenience of a simple phone dial or send button had completely taken over my reality of physical communication.

Using the mail system to deliver my letter was not as easy as I assumed it would be. I wanted the letter to arrive at Nana’s house as soon as possible. This meant I needed to send out the letter on a business day before 12 pm since that is when the campus postman collects the mail each day. I also feared that the letter might get lost in transit since that has happened to me in the past. Fortunately, I was able to send out the letter before noon on a Wednesday, just in time for it to be collected and delivered to Nana within days’ notice. This entire process reminded me of the times I would send my Christmas letters to Santa, taking special care in the way I wrote my letter and leaving it in the mailbox with an endless feeling of excitement. 

Reflection:

I noticed immediately when doing this experiment that I had lost my appreciation for the art of handmade things. I have always been a crafty person, especially when it comes to gifts, so my family is no stranger to receiving handmade goods or cards for the holidays. However, being at school and using my computer for most of my assignments has confined me to work electronically. Using this experiment as an opportunity to break through these technological constraints was so freeing to me. I was able to develop my creativity through the form of writing that made Nana feel so special. 

This message will forever stay in Nana’s home, where she can revisit it anytime she wants as a physical reminder of my love for her. After calling her to confirm the letter’s delivery, she told me how delighted she was to open the mailbox that day and find the handwritten message. The affectionate gesture of seeing my handwritten words brought her to tears. She ensured that the letter would have a special place right next to her bedside for her to revisit. 

Conclusion:

This process, which took me about an hour to complete, including the mailbox drop-off, was well worth the time. Knowing how meaningful my letter was to Nana and having her keep it as a token of our relationship encourages me to continue writing letters to her and my other loved ones. I’d like to start sending letters to my family during the holidays and birthdays so that they can receive more personal messages from me. I feel that they carry more significance than a pre-written Hallmark card or a classic “Happy Birthday” text. 

Making this letter allowed me to express my thoughts in a physical form that’s unique to me and my art style. I was able to include small notes and drawings throughout the paper related to my relationship with Nana. Using my computer or phone would limit my ability to include these minor, yet expressive details. Sending a heart-eyed emoji, something Nana and I often do when texting, can never match the value of a hand-drawn picture.

I recommend that everyone should attempt to write a letter at least once. If they don’t have a special person to deliver it to, finding a pen pal would be a creative alternative to this experiment. It would allow people to develop their communication skills and form new relationships with others through their writing.