Pen palling

Pen palling is something I really enjoy and I’ve been doing it for many years now. 

I got into it it when I came across a group on Facebook called #LettersOfLove set up by Jenny who I still occasionally contact. Jenny’s aim of the group was for members to write to each other with no obligation to write back. I really got involved in that group but in the end very few people were participating and just wanting to receive mail but not send so the group came to an end. I met one pen pal from that group who I still write to today so I’ve been writing to him for many years now!

I’m not sure where my pen palling went from there. For example how I found people to write to. 

Apart from my pen pal from the Facebook group I don’t think I write to anyone from the people I used to write to when I first started pen palling. Sometimes pen pals just fizzle out over time or you find you have no similar interests so I find there’s no point in writing or I’ve had the occasional negative pen pals. Also for myself having chronic illnesses/disabilities I’ve have pen pals with health problems too. I’ve got some current pen pals with health problems but it’s very positive and we rarely talk about our health and we’d rather write about other things, which I like. However in the past I’ve had pen pals who write about hardly anything other than their health problems and they also make made feel like my health problems were a paper cut compared to them. I found this really got me down as I do really struggle with my health. 

However it’s not all bad; I’ve had some lovely pen pals in the past.

Over the years I’ve written and gotten to know many different people. Some people I don’t write to anymore while other people I’ve been writing to for quite some time. Other people I used to write to regularly but now we just write every so often.

Currently I write to people in the UK as well as having pen pals in Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand, the USA and Canada.

I’m also part of the Chronic Warrior Collective card swap. You can opt in or out each month depending on your circumstances and if you’re able to do it. If you opt in you write to one person and someone else will write back to you. I personally choose to write to people within the UK as stamp prices as so high for international mail. Some months the card swap has a theme that you can choose from for example in October there are three themes to choose from: Halloween spooky, Halloween non-spooky or Autumn themed which is the one I opt for. Last October I made my swap a pumpkin spice latte themed card. Don’t worry if you opt in then find you can’t write to your match as the CWC has a ‘Yikes Team’ that you can ask to write to your match on your behalf.

I’ve made a few friends through the card swap. I also help out with a related scheme called Cards 2 Warriors. People either nominate themselves or are nominated by someone else because they’re having a tough time with their health whether that be physical health or mental health. They can be ill themselves, or caregivers or medical professionals, or a mixture of these. There’s also a long-term list of people who need long term support. Both those on the short-term list and the long term list are sent out mail to give them some support and to remind them that they’re not alone and how awesome and strong they are.

Cards 2 Warriors means a lot to me as I not only volunteer by sending out mail. I love doing this, making personalised cards based on the person’s profile and just writing messages of support. But as well as sending mail with C2W I also receive mail as I’m on the long-term support list to receive mail. (I’m not quite sure how this came about?) So whenever I receive the mail from a volunteer it really means a lot to know that someone is thinking about me and is wanting to give me some support and remind me that I’m not alone with all the health challenges I have to deal with each day. When I receive mail I feel so much love and gratitude and it makes me wonder how the person I’ve sent mail to feels when they receive my mail?

I’ve made some friends and pen pals through the CWC and C2W who are based in the UK and various other countries.

Mail to Lia in New Zealand

When I write to a pen pal or friend I love making each letter, card or postcard I send to a pen pal unique. I’ve never sent two pieces of mail that look the same.

Sometimes I’m able to write a letter varying in length. Some of my pen pals write more than others. Sometimes I write a card and sometimes I might continue on paper if I have more to write about. Other times if I’m not able, for example if I haven’t been able to reply to a pen pal for some time I’ll send a postcard or sometimes I just want to send a postcard. I’ll write as much as I’m able to on the postcard. I like to have a stash of nice postcards either novelty ones I’ve bought like a rainbow shaped one or ones I’ve coloured in previously.

I’m really grateful that all of my pen pals are really understanding that it can take me a while sometimes to get round to replying to them and/or that my reply might not be as long as their letter to me or that all I’m able to manage this time is a postcard.

Out posting mail 

One of my favourite things to do is take a ride on my Batec to the local post box to post my pen pal mail.

I have some really good conversations with my pen pals and we write to each other about all sorts. Books, crafting, not buying writing and craft supplies and using up what we have instead, current affairs, their work, holidays, crafting, bullet journaling, TV shows, podcasts, doing up our homes and outdoor spaces, stamp prices, pet antics and so much more!

Recently I’ve been watching some pen pal videos on YouTube to get some inspiration on how I can make my letters more creative and as a bonus get more of my craft supplies used up. I’ve written a couple pen pal reply’s so far this year and I really enjoyed just using my imagination and the inspiration. My first creation was to Lia, see her mail above. I’ve also made an envelope flip book. I’d like to try and make an accordion card next. A lot of my inspiration comes from the ‘Craft with me’ videos on The Paper Letter Blog YouTube channel. I wanted to make something jazzier and just a letter in an envelope.

Some pen pals I write to more frequently than others. Some pen pals are still my friends, we just don’t write regularly whereas others we exchange letters back and forth. Due to stamp prices I am thinking of slowing down how quickly I send a letter. Thankfully my international pen pals I don’t write to regularly so that does save me some money. UK 2nd class stamps aren’t too bad to buy however an international stamp for one letter is £3.40 (and they’ll go up soon). Royal Mail used to put their prices up annually and only by a few pence; now they increase prices multiple times a year and quite significantly.

Back before I moved into my own home and I lived at my Dad’s I had a giant notice board next to my bed and I had a collection of novelty push pins for it. I was really sad that there wasn’t room in my bungalow for the notice board to go up anywhere.

Now in my bedroom I have fairy lights going across two walls with pegs on them as a new alternative. I love the variety of what my pen pals send me. I peg up cards and little extras people send me. It really brightens up my bedroom and gives me something positive to look at and to remind me of all the people in my life that are my friends that care and support me, especially because so often I have to spend a lot of time in bed because of my health and/or because I need to rest. The mail adds some personality to my bedroom and nearly everyone asks me about the cards when they see them. I love the fairy light element to them too, just having some soft lighting in my bedroom and I can dim them lights if I want to as well.

I’d recommend pen palling to anyone, especially if you’re experiencing loneliness or isolation. The CWC card swap is probably a good way to start. One of the options you can go for alongside writing domestically or internationally is going for the the option of the intention of maybe becoming pen pals with the person you’re writing to (just remember to put your address in with the card or on the envelope.