The Lost Art of Pen palling or Why I Enjoy Blogging (Alternative Title)

When I was in high school and even early stages of college I had several pen pals. Because I am an old timer, it should be noted that this was before blogging, chat rooms were just starting out, and not everyone had emails. We didn't even have internet in our high school-only over at the vocational center. I remember my friend getting excited because he was able to print out all of the Senators contact information with the click of a mouse. Finding taboo websites such as Dan's Gallery of the Grotesque or one that had the complete Unibombers Manifesto seemed cool.

So with access to the web so limited, people like myself found pen palling an interesting way to meet people in other parts of the world or country who shared similar interests. My longest lasting ones were Cristina from Texas and Cindee from Ohio. We shared stories and dreams, mixed tapes, rambles, and sometimes just boring everyday details of life. We swapped SLAM's, which were homemade booklets or sheets that contained random questions that one was expected to answer. They would get passed around among pen pals until it was filled and returned to the creator. We used the SLAMs to protray our life artistically and throuh our interests. When a SLAM was received, one could thumb through it looking for like-minded souls. At the time I was really into photography, cemeteries/death, the Cure, the Smiths, and the Bauhaus. I tended to read existentialist stuff. So most of my pen pals ended up to be the "goth" type.

Well I guess those days are gone. I no longer dye my hair black or green, I am not fascinated with death, but I still listen to the Smiths. However, I do still get enjoyment of communicating with people around the country and World. I believe that is where blogging has fit into my life. I think it is wonderful that I am able to share stories and discuss current events and beliefs with people from all over. I also enjoy peeping in on others peoples little window of their lives. Thank you all for being there.