Hi, I’m Casey, a Millennial from Whittier, California.

You can usually catch me chilling at the movie theater, dancing at a loud concert, or on a long walk with my dog. I also love spending time with my boyfriend and our friends or watching shows like Severance, Survivor, and the Real Housewives franchises.

So, my life is pretty fun, but just like everyone else I’d sometimes get lonely and feel disconnected from others. I’d open Instagram and scroll, getting glimpses of what everyone was up to. I got updates about close friends, and people I’d only met once at a concert, all in the same feed. I felt like we were keeping up even if we never interacted or only shared emojis and quick comments. It was a poor substitute for a real connection, but it was easy.

Snail Mail Art Club began as a way to stay in touch with one friend from college who told me they wanted to get rid of Instagram but would miss maintaining some online friendships. I thought, “It’s so lame that a lack of an app would keep us from talking to each other,” but I knew they were right and we’d lose touch unless we did something about it. I offered to send them snail mail instead, and they agreed. After excitedly telling people about this new project, I quickly realized how many of us crave more personal connections and how much everyone likes receiving snail mail.

So now I use the time I used to spend on Instagram to focus my creative energy on sending people personal letters, doodles, photos, and other creative surprises. Then they send me stuff back, which is inspiring and brings me happiness!

To be clear: I am NOT claiming to be a good artist, but the time I spend writing letters to someone or making them silly art has been rewarding! Our world is moving at breakneck speed, so it’s nice to slow down, tune out the outside world, and focus on unique, personal, real connections.

My dream is to grow Snail Mail Art Club big enough to facilitate mail and art exchanges among other members too, so we can all be inspired and connect better. I hope you’ll join my club!