Become a Pen Pal

Most humans love friendship. And sometimes the more different a friend is, the more interesting it is to know them. Being a pen pal means creating a friendship across distance – which after all, in this pandemic, is a skill that comes in handy!

Originally pen pals meant writing letters back and forth to a friend, especially someone far away, maybe in another country. These days, it could be actual paper letters, or you can send emails, voice recordings, blog entries, or just about anything else. What matters is connecting with someone new, sharing a bit of your life with them and seeing how they live life.

Getting Started:

Find a match: Have you ever had a friend move away, or maybe you were the one who moved away? If there is already someone you’d like to stay in touch with, start there. You could also find a pen pal through friends or family, for example by looking for the family member near your age who is farthest away – who knows, maybe you have a second cousin who lives in another country and might enjoy exchanging letters!

Your next bet is to try organizations you’re a part of, like your school (which may have a “sister school” somewhere else in the world, through which you can find a match), your city (look for “sister city” programs), your place of worship if you have one, or a local association like a Rotary Club, which might have chapters all over the world. You can ask an adult at any one of those places for help finding a match, and that has the advantage of coming from a trusted connection.
Other ways to match: But if these options aren’t available, don’t worry – there are awesome organizations that can match you with a pen pal, for free. There are groups like penpalschools.com, and pages of ideas like https://www.weareteachers.com/virtual-pen-pals/.
Have an adult check it out: If you’re getting matched via an online site, you want to make extra sure that the person you’re talking to really is your age, and is someone like you just wanting to exchange letters. Make sure to have an adult check out any information about your match, and if anything comes up that makes you uncomfortable in your letters, take it to a trusted adult for their advice.
Choose your format: Are you an old-fashioned-letter person? A blogger? Do you prefer to send email or voice recordings?
Think about what to share and what to ask about. Once you have a pen pal, there is so much to explore and talk about in your letters. You can share about your family, your hobbies, places you’d like to go, favorite foods and experiences, and ask them about all of theirs.