Snail Mail
Sophie Newman
Class of 2010
Currently, the United States Postal
Service delivers mail Monday through
Saturday—come rain or snow, sleet or
hail. Sunday is the only day that the
stamps aren’t stamped, signatures
aren’t signed, and boxes aren’t shipped.
However, within the next few years, if
everything goes on as they are now, they
will probably be stopping mail delivery
on Saturdays as well. I don’t know
about you, but when I first heard this,
something inside of me screamed “They
can’t do that!” But, honestly, why can’t
they? “Snail mail” has been drastically
declining, with a drop of more than a
billion letters being sent or received
over the past twenty years. Looking
at the numbers, it appears that paper
mail just isn’t that important to people
anymore. But if this were true, then
why was my initial reaction appalled
and opposed to stopping Saturday mail
delivery? This is obviously a question
that everyone is going to answer
differently, with contrary opinions on
the topic. Today I’m going to share with
you my opinion, in hopes that you will
at least consider it to be, one day, your
opinion.
Our society loves technology—
myself included. It is absolutely
brilliant. We are able to text someone
a quick reminder, stalk our friends on
Facebook, and find the latest Buzzfeed
quiz to take. We can “follow” our fellow
Tweeters to stay in the loop and most
importantly, provide visual updates
on Instagram—#selfie. But for all the
efficiency of today’s fancy multimedia
methods of communication, nothing
beats getting a handwritten letter. I’m
58
presuming you have received a text
message before, likely thousands—
maybe in just the last week. But out of
those thousands upon thousands of
electronic communications, how many
really meant something to you? Probably
not very many, if any at all. Don’t get
me wrong, texting provides us with the
capability to reach someone no matter
where they are located within seconds.
But the question is, are those messages
significant? Now think about walking
to your mailbox, opening it, and seeing
a white rectangular envelope with your
name on it. Touching the lightweight
paper, that holds such heavy meaning.
Just for you. Hearing the rip as you tear
your way through the sealed edges, to
disclose the words written inside. Just
for you. It is almost a universal truth
that everyone enjoys getting a letter in
the mail. There is something so personal
about someone taking the time to sit
down and write out their thoughts,
emotions, or a story. Just for yo K