By Angelina Burkholder | Echo
Three weeks into summer and the TU loneliness is already kicking in. You miss your friends, but Taylor is hours away and some of those friends live even farther.
Instead of sitting around this summer, pining away for your Taylor friends, take some action and show them you still care about them even though distance keeps you apart.
The simplest way to drop back into someone's life is to send them a simple text. But try taking communication a step further by suggesting a phone call or skype date. Check out Google + Hangout or ooVoo for free multiple person video calls. You can add up to 12 people in a ooVoo call and 10 people in a Google + Hangout so now you can talk with all your favorite people at the same time. However, make sure to set aside at least an hour for calls; catching up with friends can take longer than you expect.
And if talking on the phone or staring at someone's face on a computer screen isn't your idea of a good catch-up moment, try happy mail. Send Happy Mail is a Colorado-based company designed to urge reconnection in a forgotten way: sending snail mail. But wait, it gets better. Not only are there endless ideas for sending objects, small gifts and letters in the mail, but sending snail mail also creates and saves mail carrier jobs.
Turn on your artistic side and let the creative juices flow.If you love writing letters, pen one to a friend and decorate the envelope. It will make your letter stand out from the boring pile of advertisements, bills and junk mail. Simple colored paper, ribbon and pretty markers can make any white envelope look exciting.
If writing a letter isn't your style, send a small gift to a friend through the mail instead. Anything under 13 ounces can be sent with just some additional stamps. Find accurate prices for your gifts online at the United States Postal Service's website.
Simple things like fuzzy socks or flip flops can be mailed just by attaching an address and stamps around it; you don't have to put it in a special envelope. You could even send a couple homemade cookies to that crush of yours and leave out the return address. That special someone will never know who sent it, but he/she is sure to enjoy the treat!
Purchase a disposable camera, take some goofy pictures, then send it to your friends. Your surprise pictures will add a little sparkle to their day and remind them of your special friendship. You can always take an empty spice or soda bottle, fill it with some small goodies, attach an address and have it out in the mail in no time. Making someone's day is that simple.
And it only takes 13 ounces.
