Challenge within a challenge: Signed, sealed, delivered

The 30 day letter writing challenge was one that I knew I would enjoy. I've said in previous posts how much I like writing letters and there’s nothing better than receiving something in the post which isn't a bill.

So who did I write to? I wrote to 11 strangers, 8 friends, 5 family members, 3 friends of family or friends, 2 celebrities and myself!

The 11 strangers I wrote to were a combination of neighbours who I’d never met, and to people through More Love Letters. I discovered this site through reading an article about Hannah Brencher in Glamour magazine who started More Love Letters. Every few weeks the site puts up 4-5 people that have been nominated to receive love letters as they are going through a tough time and need a bit of love, so I write letters with words of encouragement to hopefully in some small way help.
I feel writing letters you can open up more than in a text message or email. I wrote to one of my friends explaining why I couldn't make her hen do, which was hard to write. Trying to write the right words and balance to ensure that it didn't look like I was hurting her feelings in the process. But I got a nice message back saying she completely understood my reasons.

Other letters I wrote were ones of opportunity. I wrote to Coops and Fran to organise a film night, I wrote to my friend ‘Meryl’ offering to cook her and her husband a meal as they’d been through a tough time, and I wrote to my cousins asking them if they wanted to visit as I barely feel like I know them which is a shame.

With letter writing you don’t do it to get replies. With writing to strangers, you don’t get replies, and some people are just really busy to find the time to reply to a letter; albeit whether it’s in a text or an email.

I wrote to 2 famous people, one of them being Jimmy Fallon and I wrote to him thanking him for doing his show as last year when I was going through a tough time it made me laugh quite a bit.
I wrote funny letters, including one to a family friend called Mike who I nickname Lionel as I think he looks like Lionel Ritchie. I wrote congratulating him on all ‘Lionel’s’ success with Glastonbury and how he’s already got a Vegas residency for this year.

And I wrote a letter to my future self. I read a book a few years ago about a site that allows you to write a letter to your future self, and it had a book with some of the letters submitted. I'm going to give the letter to my parents who in turn can give it to me in 10 years’ time. I've written what I want the future me to have achieved, what not to have done and hopefully the person she (I mean I) has become.

I'm going to carry on with the letter writing as it’s something I enjoy and it’s a simple thing that doesn't cost the earth to do. And I've got a few ideas for great letters to write in the near future.