Why PoemPostcards?
PoemPostcards is all about spontaneity, the freedom of poetry, the joy of receiving and sending mail, and making connections with strangers.
I love to write, and I think most creatively when I know where to start and have some sort of motivation to push me forward. And for me, there is no greater motivation than knowing that something I write will bring joy to a someone's mailbox.
"Smile at strangers and you might just change a life."
-Steve Maraboli
Why Write?
We are all writers at heart. With living comes thinking. With thinking, generating ideas. With ideas, the desire to express them. Ideas can be as menial as what you had for breakfast. Ideas can be as dumb as what you think of a crack in the bathroom tiling. Ideas can be as philosophical as your thoughts on the essence of a single blade of grass, as blunt as a rant about your roommate, as personal as your innermost emotions about rejection and love.
We all have thousands of thoughts a day, thousands of independent ideas unique to us, a singular being in the human race. But without writing thoughts down, without recording them in some way, shape, or form, thoughts will inevitably disappear. There is a desire somewhere within human nature to express, and it is the act of writing that immortalizes those thoughts.
The Problem:
Writing is being used less and less on a daily basis around the world, with e-mail, smartphones, and digital information becoming paramount in society. When writing is utilized, it is often in the context of an assessment or evaluation, rather than a form of communication. Unfortunately, many education systems today reinforce negative connotations with writing, leading students to associate writing with criticism, judgment, and displeasure. The only experiences that students have for writing are test-taking scenarios and writing essays.
The Solution:
Celebrate writing. Cherish those birthday cards your relatives sent you. Be proud of your own writing. I created PoemPostcards for a chance to do just that-
to enjoy writing for the sake of writing. It is a fun way to motivate myself to put pen to paper, but more importantly, to turn ideas into words. Sharing poems with other people gives me a chance to take pride in what I do, and to make meaning out of a practice that is quickly becoming a lost art. Write a quick note to a family member or friend, and you'll find that they treasure handwritten things much more than anything printed or sent electronically.
The influence of school on Calvin's mentality of writing.
Credit to Bill Watterson, author Calvin and Hobbes, 11 Feb 1993.
Why Me?
You tell me. Anyone can write. I am no better and no worse than anyone else. But if not me, who? I am simply someone willing to write and take action- as a student, as a writer, and as a thinker hoping to reverse a stereotype. I am me.