Without moving anything but your heart.

"To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart"
-Phyllis Theroux

 There is no greater pleasure, in my humble opinion, than coming home to find a letter waiting for you on the mat; addressed by hand, in the familiar script of a friend. This is proof that whilst you may be divided by geography, you’re remembered and cherished.

Adorable postcard from Tara!

Those of you that know me well will be well aware that I’ve been a huge advocate of snail mail for a very long time and know few joys greater than the postman’s fruitful call. Having grown up n a large Irish family my cousins are spread al over the world; Ireland, America and even Australia, yet these boundaries never keep our family behind with the news. I mention this because one of my closest and longest friendships in that which a share with my cousin, Laura, who I’ve only ever seen in the flesh about four times, and yet by our letters we’re truly as close as any cousins could be. Having become pen pals aged about ten and eleven respectively we’ve shared, advised and supported each other through school, girl wars, boy drama and more.

Another of Tara's offerings.

If anything my generation has been completely spoilt, we live in a world where even if you move to opposite ends of the country for university you can still, if you choose to,you can still chat to your best friends for hours every day, or get their advice on outfits, be it a shopping or night out wardrobe decision. But is that what really counts? When you really think about it, it's still virgin territory. Pick up a novel and you're reminded that even as recently as sixty years ago postal correspondence was the predominant, if not the only, means of communication. Yes, it's not as convenient. Yes, it takes longer. But it's also more thoughtful, shows someone's taken the time to put pen to paper and even gone out to buy a stamp. It shows that whatever they've written, even if it's silly or 'just because', it was worth waiting for. Furthermore, it's tangible proof that someone's thinking of you, missing you and wanting to talk to you.

"Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls; for, thus absent friends speak."
-John Donne

Mumma wishng me luck in
my new home.

As I mentioned above, I've been enamoured with the concept of snail mail and letter writing since I was quite little. So what a treat it as to find new fans of the letter as I moved away to university last year. Living in halls, we all loved finding a little coloured envelope in the box and even wrote to each other a bit over the holidays! Who were these pretty envelopes coming from? Well, besides from thoughtful mothers with a touch of empty nest syndrome, lots of school chums discovered the magic of mail and started recording the full versions of their university tales in letters, and sending occasional bursts of loveliness in the form of postcards, such as some of the ones pictured here, courtesy of my friend Tara (as mentioned here).

Cadbury Treats for Christmas.

Colourful Easter wishes

Since moving to Rome in September my postal appreciation has expanded to an even greater enormity than  could have ever imagined. To tell the truth, I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning with every arrival. From my mum's sporadic offerings of support and love (pictured) and the simple joy of my birthday cards finding me here. Being away over holiday periods obviously was hard at times. I was so happy to go home for Christmas, but I found the build up difficult as (a) it wasn't cold enough, (b) there weren't enough festive lights and (c) I didn't have my advent calendar. It meant so much to me to receive a long letter from my best friend, Fiona, in the first week of December, Cadbury's chocolate calendar included. As I've mentioned before I didn't go home for Easter, but was saddened by missng my family revelries. It therefore meant a lot when my parents sent me a card full of  Easter wishes signed 'All Love' hoping I'd 'do whatever the Romans do (WITHIN REASON)'. Sending a card is such a simple  thing, but it always means so much. With a positive correlation between meaning and distance travelled.

"Many people walk in and out of your life
but only true friends
leave footprints on your heart."

 Naturally, I've been thrilled to receive letters from new correspondents, and wonderful friends. Sam Clarke, fantastic fellow Warwick student, has had me in stitches with his commentary on my existence and Tara has kept the adorable postcards (no idea where she finds them!) coming, enclosed in letters. Fiona and Laura are as loyal as ever and I know I can always rely on word from them. Letters to Laura are like my diary, accept my diary writes back, gives me advice and even tells me when I'm being an idiot. She also praises me when I've shown maturity, self-restraint or compassion.

Speaking of postcards, shortly after moving overseas I found out about an excellent scheme: Student to Student. This is the perfect solution for student snail mail. It's free, so why not try it out?! Grab a postcard, scribble some love out for your fellow student of a friend and just put STS where the stamp would go. I've been doing this all year to let people back home know that I miss them. Give it a go, you've nothing to lose!

Dad's offerings from Vienna. 

"What a wonderful thing is the mail, capable of conveying across continents a warm human hand clasp"

-Author Unknown

Well, I could go on for hours but I'm sure you're all bored by now. If you've ever done a Year Abroad or lived overseas comment your opinions on the power of post! Either way, never underestimate the power of post.

Collection of letters since moving to Rome!