Yes, old-school. The time before the internet. The time when thirty somethings like myself lived without cell phones and laptop computers. The time when kids in school sent messages to each other via the now lost practice of letter writing—and I saved every single one of them!

Why did I save every letter anyone ever wrote me during grade school? Because I knew even then that they contained some sort of historical significance, even if that history was my own. I knew that someday I would not remember all the details of grade school, for better or worse, and that someday I would want to read them again. And so now, today, I am glad the me of twenty years ago thought it wise to hold on to such analogue era mementos. They are the closest thing I have to a time machine back to my youth. I have dozens of anxiously penned notes, the majority of which having been written by girls—not just girls whom I was “going with” but girls who were friends of mine just as well—that can immediately help me commune with the teenager lying just beneath the surface of my daily, Big Apple grind.

Before the information age really took off, kids back in the day still needed to chat with each other just like kids today and I have discovered from my letter collection just what it was exactly we needed to discuss, for example:

• I love you, do you love me? (relationships)
• I’m going to tell Keri off after school. (current events)
• Meet me by my locker after gym. (logistical planning)
• Did dad drink last night? (domestic drama)
• How obvious is it that our English teacher is going through a bad divorce? (workplace drama)

I cannot say for sure whether we lived in simpler times or not, and I am not sure if we have lost a piece of our culture by sending letters via the neatly conformed email font that makes every person’s handwriting look exactly the same. Maybe it is better that we use email and chat programs today? We don’t use as much paper, so that is one good thing. I like the idea of saving trees.

But as optimistic as I am about using technology to make positive change in our lives, I am still a bit nostalgic for the uniqueness of handwritten letters. Especially ones written by young people. And there is something special and gratifying about seeing your name written down by another human being: Dear Matt, Hey Matt, What’s Up Matt! Each being a one of a kind.

And so I have started the Old Letter Project as a way to share those old letters and my hope is that even though someone grabbed whatever piece of notebook paper or napkin or typewriter and addressed their love, hopes and fears to me personally, the message they send is universal and I hope you will find as much enjoyment out of them as I do.

To wrap up this introduction, I leave you with a typed letter sent to me from Frank. Frank’s family moved to Arizona in 7th Grade and he mailed me this letter a year later.

It is good.