Where have all the love letters gone?

Have we been too involved with the available technology that we forget how it is to be romantic?

Courtship has been practiced in different countries, in various ways, for hundreds of years now. And one of the most romantic acts in my book is the old fashioned love letter on parchment.

People nowadays rely on getting hook ups in bars, clubs or wherever. The whole concept of “pursuit” has slowly becoming extinct. They call it “the chase” now and the goal isn’t really a commitment or a serious relationship but, er, something else. Faint are the traditions or practices, which usually accompanies courtship and that includes, writing love letters on parchment back and forth.

I loved the feeling when I first received a love letter back in highschool. What made it extra special was the fact that the sender was a guy I was crushing on at that time. It was sent under an unusual circumstance, which I really don’t want to get into but to cut it short, it didn’t end good. Ah, well — kids. LOL.

What really brought this on, though, is the memory of the last time I got a letter from a guy [I'm not entirely certain if it really was a love letter].

Holding the paper and seeing the inked hand-writing, caused a lump in my throat. Yea. It has to do something about feelings and stuff. Heh. But I had to approach it with a lighthearted demeanor simply because, like how it is traditionally, women aren’t suppose to make their affections known until the man has proven himself. Call me old fashion. Teehee.

Bottomline, though technology presents a lot of avenues for communication, like mobile calls or sms messaging or instant messaging, nothing beats love letters on parchment. It’s a lot more personal. You can be sure that the guy put in a considerable effort in producing such a letter — picture the scene in the movie, Kate & Leopold, wherein Hugh Jackman’s character wrote a letter of apology to Meg Ryan’s character. He used a quill! Wasn’t it romantic?

I’m simply refusing to accept that we’ve reached the end of the age for love letters. The idea makes me sad.

Your turn. How do you feel about sending and receiving love letters? Or do you just prefer hitting the send/receive button of your Outlook? Or perhaps you prefer brevity or mobility — and are more inclined towards instant or SMS messaging, respectively?