Monday, February 26, 2018

Snail Mail 101: A Guide to Pen-Pals!

Snail mail and pen-pals seem to be a lost art in our digital age. However, sending letter is a great way to get creative and make new friends from across the country or even across the world. Through pen-paling, you can learn so many new things about new people and places! So, how do you start?

HOW TO FIND A PEN-PAL:
There are a few ways to find a pen-pal over the internet. My go-to has been findteenpenpals.com for a number of reasons. This site categorizes eligable pen-pals by age, country, or interests. This is the easiest way to find a pen-pal in my opinion. You can submit an "ad" for yourself, including your name, age, interests, your perfect pen-pal, and a photo of yourself. People who are interested in the same things can send you a message or you can scroll though others "ads" to find someone you might like to exchange letters with. I have found many pen-pals through this website, one of which I have been exchanging with for two years! 
Another way to find  a pen-pal is through Twitter or Instagram. Through a hashtag like #penpalswanted you can find a few people looking for someone to exchange with. There is a large community of k-pop fans on both of these apps who exchange snail mail. I have a new pen-pal who I love receiving letters from because we have different bias groups! It's fun to have a pen-pal with different interests, because It is a chance to learn about something new; I teach my pen-pal about VIXX and Day 6, and she tells me all about BTS.
If you don't trust finding a pen-pal online, there is a chance your school has a language club who may do a pen-pal project (or start a club and a pen-pal project!!). My college has a Japanese club that is planning on exchanging letters with our sister school in Japan. This is a really great opportunity for someone who likes traveling or learning about new places and cultures!
SUPPLIES YOU'LL NEED:
You can make your letter extremely simple or super extravagant. Your basic supplies include a pen, a paper, and an envelope. Your pen-pal shouldn't expect an overly exciting letter full of colorful tape and shiny stickers. You can write the most mundane letter in the world and it will still be fun to receive. However, a bright, enthusiastic letter is always amazing to open. To create a fun letter you might want to use the following:
  • Memo pads
  • Washi tape
  • Stickers
  • Doilies
  • Cute letter sets
  • Scrapbook paper

WHAT TO INCLUDE:
The obvious thing to include is a letter. This letter could say anything, but a good place to start is an introduction. Tell them where your from and what it's like there, what you like to do for fun, what your favorite things are, about your family or pets. As you continue to exchange letters, you can tell them about your day almost like a diary entry, about new shows you have watched, or movies you've seen recently, you can tell the anything you see fit! 
In addition to a letter, you can include a sheet of questions. These can be basic questions like "coffee or tea?" or they can be serious questions like "what is the meaning of you life?" just make sure you don't forget to answer their questions! Playlists are always a great idea for a pen-pal letter. Include 5 or so of your favorite songs at the moment, or make up a themed list like "rainy day tunes" that you think your pen-pal will enjoy. If music isn't your common interest, you can make a list of any recommendations: books, movies, restaurants, etc. 
My favorite part of a snail-mail letter are the little extras you can include. These are just little things your pen-pal might like. These are definitely not necessary but it makes everything a lot more fun:
  • Stickers
  • Washi tape samples
  • Memo pads
  • Polaroids or photocards
  • Stationary
  • Tea
  • Face masks
  • Key chains or jewelry 
  • Artwork

You can buy a lot of these cute extras for super cheap. Try Aliexpress, Wish, or Ebay if you're shopping online, or try the dollar store, Target, or michaels (with coupons!) if you actually want to go shopping in person. 

HAVE FUN!
Sending letters is really a lot of fun. Try picking a theme for your letter, like Harry Potter or a color theme like all yellow. Remember that handmaid is always more heartfelt! And most importantly enjoy yourself! 

I hope you can find your perfect pen-pal match! 
Indiana Grace
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Sunday, February 25, 2018

Book Review: Call Me By Your Name

“I suddenly realized that we were on borrowed time, that time is always borrowed, and that the lending agency exacts its premium precisely when we are least prepared to pay and need to borrow more...”
André  Aciman does his absolute best to piece together this gorgeous tale of first love and the reality of time in his novel, Call Me By Your Name.

I am not an avid reader. I work at a library yet I have continuously reread the same book for years. I hear praises for the worlds current great authors, yet none of them spark me. When I picked up this book it was only because I had heard great things about the film. I never expected to be found in a whirlwind of emotions and feelings I'd never felt. This book stirs such dreadful excitement towards love and a depressing empathy for inevitable change.

Does this book start out slow-moving or do I lack the experience of truly falling for another person so much so that it leads to worship; do I not understand the agonizing phenomenon that is slowly falling in love? While reading I found many descriptions and dialogue pertaining to my own thoughts and emotions. However, as I continued to read I found that the desire and despair I feel cannot compare to that of Elios for Oliver or vice versa. I have not experienced much of what this book incites and so it was difficult for me to finish without completely altering my view on romance and relationships. I was left feeling empty, hopeless, lifeless even. I felt as though I was missing a necessary maturity to rightly interpret the sentiments of this novel.
“Twenty years was yesterday, and yesterday was just earlier this morning, and morning seemed light-years away.” 
Elio is just 17 yet carries more exposure to life than me. He falls so deeply for his father's house guest, a 24-year-old Oliver. Oliver's nonchalant attitude came off unpleasant and his disregard for the outcome of his actions left me discouraged, though his bright side shines through his development.  He was sly but nonetheless apprehensive as the novel reads. Elio expresses his desire for the older man in illuminating means, painting a vibrant picture of how we view those we hold close. Elio longs to caress the pure skin of Oliver's arms; he longs for intimacy on a different level from what he has known. This forceful desire fuels his unexpected and bold actions to turn his fantasies into existence. Once Elio gets what he is craving, he is flooded in a wave of regret for destroying what beautiful and sustained longing he once had; everything had changed from here. He struggles to understand this transition in their relationship; deciding whether or not and how to step back from his hastily made decision to fulfill his ever growing appetite. Despite their newfound intimate relationship they make it a point to let their friendship continue growing. They conceive beautiful memories that each would hold onto long into their lives. Knowing their intimate relationship would remain ephemeral, the men soon realized the reality of fleeting time. Time continues to move forward, the present will soon be in the past. Nothing is truly permanent in our unforgiving world despite how deeply we deny it. Be that as it may, these moments from parallel lives can be relived through memories of past youth.

Amidst the homoerotic plot line underlies an unavoidable truth. Despite the glimmer of hope that memories forever hold a portal to the past, the overall conclusion that time is forever slipping beneath us is a scary one. To put it simply, this book made me depressed. I want to avoid engrossing myself in the idea that one day I will no longer live the life I do now. I fear the future when I fall so hard in love only to have it torn from me by the wrath of time itself.
“Over the years I'd lodged him in the permanent past, my pluperfect lover, put him on ice, stuffed him with memories and mothballs like a hunted ornament confabulating with the ghost of all my evenings. I'd dust him off from time to time and then put him back on the mantelpiece. He no longer belonged to earth or to life. All I was likely to discover at this point wasn't just how distant were the paths we'd taken, it was the measure of loss that was going to strike me--a loss I didn't mind thinking about in abstract terms but which would hurt when stared at in the face, the way nostalgia hurts long after we've stopped thinking of things we lost and may never have cared for.” 
The depression I felt from this book was not a bad emotion to experience. I gained a better understanding and outlook on life and love. Though most of the book was full of unrequited yearning or instant regret from unraveling a familiar emotion, it was a great look at understanding youth and momentary joy while scratching the surface on the importance of friendship within an intimate relationship, and diving into the uneasiness of the past and future.
"Time makes us sentimental. Perhaps, in the end, it is because of time that we suffer."
I'd love to hear any other opinions or reviews on this book!
Indiana Grace