One piece of paper

Nobody writes letters anymore.

When I was a kid, I had three pen pals. They were all girls, go figure, but it was a great thrill receiving a personal letter in the mail. I'd never met any of them in person, but we exchanged pictures. A couple of them I chatted with online as well, so we didn't rely solely on the letters for conversation, but it was fun.

A few of us in college also sent letters to each other, with various surprises inside occasionally. We saw each other every day, so it's not like it was the only way we talked, but it was still fun to find a handwritten letter in your mailbox.

So why is that? It's not the same with email. Email is pretty much our default method of communication these days. With the ability to reach people instantly, we simply jot down a few lines, click "send," and have a reply right away. Combine that with the fact that online chatting is everywhere, and there's no lack of communication. But it kind of feels like the more connected we are, the more distant we are because it's so easy. There's not much effort involved to keep in touch, so we don't seem to devote as much thought to it.

And then there's the advent of blogging and social walls like Facebook, where we just put our information out there and expect it to be seen. We don't even send it to a target anymore, we just write it down and that's it. For me, anyway, it's so hard to wade through the virtual noise that I constantly miss the important stuff from my friends because I just can't find it.

So here's a homework assignment for you: Send a letter to someone. Not email, not a Facebook message, but an actual letter. Snail mail, as it were. Handwrite it. Put a little goofy picture in it. Let that person know you thought enough about them to sit down and put some effort in your communication.

Just one piece of paper can make a world of difference in someone's day.

I'm back

It has been both a very long and very short six months.

Looking back, I should have kept up with the journaling. I think it would have helped me better deal with all this. I started to write a little, something of a memoir, but stopped because I didn't really know what to write.

Well, I'm going to try journaling instead. I'm much better mentally from where I started, but the aftershocks linger. Being able to drive again and having everything back to "normal" feels a lot better than I anticipated. I'm also exercising, reclaiming my body. That feels good, too.

I don't know what's going into this blog, or how often it'll happen. I'm going to make a concerted effort to do it, but I'm not much of a blogger. I do apologize if anyone's come here looking for updates over the past six months. I believe I was active in Facebook, but that doesn't carry over to this blog.

I went back and edited the previous posts for readability. It's amazing how the mind takes care of itself. I only vaguely remember the hospital now. I think I remember writing some of that, but it all sort of blends together. And there might have been one nightmare, but I'm not sure. Regardless, the mental impact was more subtle and still profound, yet not as bad as I was afraid of.

I'm slower than I used to be, and I lose words more often, but there's been no real degradation of my mental function. I think I'm really the only one who notices. Of course, it could just be hypochondria.

There's also no real effect on me physically - aside from becoming fat and out of shape. I'm exercising daily. Not pushing myself, just moving a bit, building up endurance slowly. The progress is astounding, though. It's amazing how quickly the body can get stronger and adapt.

Anyway, much like I'm adding the exercise to my daily routine to strengthen my body, I think I need to add blogging to strengthen my soul. I'm doing better - Miriam says I'm almost like a totally new person - but I could be doing better still.

Thank you for staying with me.