One thing I seem to hear all the time is: romance is dead. But i dont think it is. I think it may take more thoughtfulness to be romantic in a digital age but I certainly don’t think it is dead. In fact, I think achieving a romantic gesture is much easier these days because so many people talk about what they want or how they want to be wooed. And for me, I want handwritten love letters!
But, let’s rewind, because even though it is Valentine’s Day, handwritten love letters are not only romantic in my mind. They can be love letters to places, to friends, to a stranger who makes you smile, to yourself or even to your future kids. Because, to me, the beauty in a handwritten letter, isn’t in the giving of the gift but in the creation of it. What kind of paper did they use? What pen or pencil? Was it sealed with a wax seal or folded up and stuffed in a pocket? How worn is the paper? Are the words theatrical or straight to the point?
You can tell so much about a person from how they write and how they create. It’s like this exclusive little window just for you into how they see the world. It’s this beautiful gift because they aren’t just giving parts of themself (their words) they are truly letting you in.
And then, once the letter has been in your possession for some time, the letter then holds your imprint too. The paper may be creased and crinkled or splattered with teardrops or thinning from overuse. It becomes the secret shared treasure between the creator and the receiver. It is something so wholesome and real and tangible. And, do you know what? In a digital world where everything feels so intangible, holding something close that is tangible is a beautiful, inarticulable phenomenon.
So what about romance then? Do you remember in those old movies where the guy asks the dad if he can take the daughter on a date? And then he comes to her house with a bouquet of flowers and they go to see a film and when they come home he kisses her on the forehead and then she keeps the film stub and presses the flowers into a journal? That’s the romance I want. The ones where everything feels purposeful and real. In Our Last Summer (the book i wrote), the mmc annotates so many books for her in their time apart and the permanence of that gesture in something so precious to him holds his all-consuming love for her in every part of it. And, I think for people like me who are desperately searching for an old-timey kind of love, the beauty of handwritten love letters speaks to our very souls.
I mean, come on, just think about it. Think about your significant other taking their time selecting a piece of paper and then a pen and then curating the perfect pairings of words that will speak from their heart to yours, articulating every desire, every love, every memory they think of so fondly. There is just some kind of unfound magic in that and I love that we can bring back the old-timey kind of love and appreciate it that much more because of this digital age where everything feels too fast and too immediate. Old-timey love has nostalgia weaved through its core because life operated at a slower pace and to me handwritten letters have that same feeling wrapped around them like a hug.
Do you agree? Are you an old-timey love kind of person?