To most of the population, using the mailing system for a simple letter has been outdated and replaced with e-mails, but this isn’t true for everyone. There isn’t an easy way to get into pen-paling without being directed by a peer, but on Instagram, there is a subculture just waiting to be found. The letters themselves are packed with a variety of surprises intended to leave the recipient with a smile. The social and cultural benefits of pen paling are unlimited but as with anything great, there are reasonable risks that present themselves. This underrated system, ignored by many, has been innovated by a few special girls.

This community is fueled by a variety of girls on various social network platforms but exists primarily on Instagram. The easiest way to find others or allow others to find you is to use a variety of hashtags on mailing related pictures. These hashtags call upon others to become new pen pals or are just ways to keep their current friends updated with whether they’ve received or sent out letters to them.

#Snailmailrevolution

#Penpalswanted

#Postcrossing

When it was suggested that I enter this community by a wonderful young lady, we learned that it was common for our partners to overlap. This created an environment for the both of us to understand these girls even more and have the ability to speak highly of them, as if we had interacted in person with them countless numbers of times. There have also been Facebook groups which get as many pen pals in the community together to share ideas and coordinate swaps. There are also plenty of people in this group who create Etsy shops to meet the wants of others in the community.

The letters themselves consist of more than just a letter both on the physical and nonphysical level. The letters hold a type of sentiment that the technology today has seemed to take away. There is something special about being able to hold something that someone put a significant amount of effort into, just for you. Receiving a text, regardless of content, loses some sentiment as the receiver of the text doesn’t know if it had been mindlessly typed out without any sincerity. Physically, the letters are made out with personalized stationery, stickers, washi tape, and little gifts for the recipient to use on their own letters. Holidays and birthdays are an exciting time in the pen paling community. Gift giving holidays grant an opportunity for people to send or swap presents. This doesn’t happen consistently as shipping costs would add up too quickly. Most of those that pen pal end up collecting something that is primarily available to them through this community. These range from stamps, coins, postcards, tea, newspaper clippings, stickers, Starbucks cards and so on. Personally, I collect postcards and use them to decorate the walls in my room. They serve as visual motivation for me as I would love to travel as much as possible when I am done with college.

For those who love to immerse themselves into other cultures, such as myself, it’s a great way to become more familiar with the day to day cultural differences. There are also plenty of caring people in this community who offer themselves up as a support system for others. This also offers a platform for anyone to improve their writing skills in a wide amount of languages. However, there are reasonable risks in this community, but not necessarily to the degree that one would assume. The credibility of someone is checked through how active they are on Instagram, along with their pen pals visible approval of what they receive. Addresses are covered up in pictures as a precaution so that the wrong person doesn’t gain access to this personal information. There is also a common resistance to writing first since there are people that ask to be written to first but have no intention of replying. I have been a victim of this myself. During the holiday season, Christmas swaps have often not been received by me but I’ve still sent all if mine out. Thankfully, this isn’t too common.

Pen Paling has been a very therapeutic hobby for me, and it has also made its way into being a lifestyle. I constantly have pen pal dates with my friend where we drink tea and share stationary. This serves as a way to vent and just escape from everyday stressors. The platform and community is nothing short of friendly and inviting to all. Coming home to something besides bills and advertisements in your mailbox can turn a bad day into a good one. Giving this a try was one of my favorite decisions I’ve made to date