Remember when we used to send our grandparents, aunts and uncles thank you notes? What happened to that? Sending a letter requires effort, and we don’t like to put in the effort when we have enough work to do each day. Writing your appreciation on a piece of paper shows much more thoughtfulness than sending a text does.
Make someone’s day by telling them how much they mean to you with thank you notes.
In most cases, we write thank you notes to our friends and family members after receiving a gift. Sending notes by mail counted as the perfect response to someone who attended a birthday party or celebration, and we showed our relatives that we appreciated them coming out and spending time with us.
Grandparents love getting these notes and most likely keep them hung up on their fridge. Why shouldn’t we continue this practice? We wrote these thank you cards because we felt like we had no other options. In the digital age, there doesn’t seem to be a reason for handwritten notes anymore when we can take shortcuts with text messages and of course, DMs. We reject the fact that people actually appreciate receiving a piece of paper that holds meaning.
The way we communicate morphed into something so impersonal. It comes off as ungrateful, especially when your grandmother sends you a check in the mail and you respond by sending a text that reads “thx gma.”
Using technology to reach out is like the status quo nowadays.
We tend not to question the fact that this is what we do because society normalizes it. “I’d love a thank you note but it’d be weird to get one out of the blue. Things have gotten to the point where it’d be weird if I got a thank you note instead of a text,” sophomore at the University of Florida Sanjana Ravi said. We rarely even dial the phone to make a call anymore.
Why do we love to take the easy way out? Teenagers and young adults might not be the only ones guilty. Even older generations find themselves using technology to get out of awkward phone conversations and the effort of writing letters.
To really show people that we care about them, traveling a decade or two back demonstrates our thoughtfulness.
Write a note for your best friend who drops everything to hang out with you, your co-worker who helps the work day fly or your professor who really kept you interested in his class. Let the people important to you know just how important they are.
Don’t take shortcuts by just sending a quick text or email. “Appreciation can get lost in the craziness of life so taking the time to think of why you’re thankful for specific people is important. It lets them know that they are appreciated, loved and valued,” senior at the University of Florida Mary Kenney said. “Sometimes receiving a simple thank you can truly uplift someone’s spirits and make what they do worth it.”
If you received a note, how would you feel? Probably feeling pretty good. Feeling like you matter to someone can’t get replicated.
Speaking of writing thank you notes…
Learning how to write thank you notes at this point in our lives saves us a lot of stress in the future. Adults can’t always hide behind a screen.
Keep your writing short, sweet and legible. Why send a note if you can’t even read what it says? In a world of texting and emails, we must not forget the importance of handwriting and grammar. Using cursive seems more formal, yet most children don’t even learn how to write in script in school anymore.
If you plan on writing a note, commit to doing it all the way. Simply writing “thanks for the gift,” shows carelessness to the person you try to give thanks to.
Break free from society’s imaginary boundaries that saying something meaningful looks lame or embarrassing. While technology evolves, we must stay grounded in human connection. Take time today to write a note to someone who means a lot to you. Show them how awesome it is to care.
