Profile: Melody

Melody is probably one of the youngest letter-writing bloggers out there in blogland. She's 14 and lives in Seattle, Washington, with her parents and her sister, who also has a blog. (That's Melody above and with her sister, Passion, at right.) They're moving soon to Irvine, Calif.

She has quite a few penpals, and really seems to enjoy writing. Her blog is Dance in the Rainbow, and here are Melody's answers to my profile questions.

1. Why do you write letters? It’s strange, really because I hate writing about myself but I love hearing about other people: where they live, what they do for a living, their friends and stories, drama, everything. It might be related to my love of travel, I enjoy seeing people who are extremely unlike me but doing just the same thing: living. It’s also extremely exhilarating to receive mail, especially fun letters.
2. Which is more exciting for you (and tell us why -- elaborate) -- finding a letter in your mailbox or dropping a letter into a mailbox? You know, I hate to sound selfish here but receiving a letter. I enjoy writing letters and all but it’s just not quite as exciting as holding a fun, colorful letter in your hands and reading it and enjoying it in general.
3. Who do you write to? Why? I write to a lot of different people, most of them are bloggers about letter writing because I know they will write back to me. I used to have a lot of pen pals from other places but 99% of them stopped writing to me.
4. Do you write to people who never write back? Why or why not? I’m not sure I totally understand this question. How would I write to someone that never writes to me? I’ve dropped very few pen pals, usually only the ones that are outrageously rude to me, which I’m sad to say does happen.
5. Do you use fancy stationery or plain notebook paper? Why? I love using fancy stationery because it can inspire me to write more and just be a better experience overall. Also, writing with nicer stationery generally lets you receive nicer stationery back from your pals and that’s always fun to see. I like letters that are really bright, fun and colorful.
6. Do you e-mail, text, etc., too? If so, what determines who gets an e-mail and who gets a letter? Being an average teen, I’m very into Facebook, email and texting, of course. I have one email pen pal but most of mine are written. I usually just let the person decide. Most of my pen pals are into written and mailed letters but some aren’t comfortable giving out their address so they email me. It’s still fun though! (That's Melody at right, with one of her friends.)
7. Do you always handwrite letters? Or, do you ever type them on a typewriter or print them out from a computer? To this day, I’ve only written letters that I sent in the postal service. Not much else to say about that. I have received a few typed letters though.
8. Tell us about your blog/website. My blog used to be primarily about letter writing but recently, I’ve been receiving less and less mail and it has changed to a blog about life really. I talk about what’s going on in my life, post pictures, and that sort of thing. Once I move, I think I’ll have more time to improve the mail section but I’ve been really busy lately so the posts are rather spaced out.
9. Why should people write more letters? Letters, although not very convenient, can be a way to show your creativity and connect with someone in a really fun way. When receiving a real piece of mail, it’s much more exciting than receiving an email because you know the person cared enough to spend time to write and decorate it.
10. What is your favorite letter? Historically? I loved reading the love notes Napoleon Bonaparte wrote. Anything written in old English is a fun read though. Out of the letters I’ve received, I’m going to have to say any of the letters from Preeya, one of my pen pals.

(That's the scene Melody sees from her front door every night.)