Words are so wonderful. I'm sure you've read this time and time again on my blog, but I really mean it. Words are the key to my heart, and I hope they are to yours too. They remind us of the good times, they remind us of the hard times, but they remind us why it's all worth it.

Letters are a great form of communication that we definitely do not treasure as much as we used to before. We are inundated with our emails, our social media, and our online presences (which, believe me, I am constantly aware of this). This semester, it's been so lovely to receive written forms of love from people back home. One of my goals for the rest of 2016 is to write more letters.

Writing by hand is an art that we are slowly losing. I sometimes catch myself when I'm writing in my planner because it feels so foreign. I'm so attached to my iPad keyboard that typing is second nature. When I go to use a pencil or pen, it seems like I'm in another world, and it's a great one.

So much of my time is spent staring at a computer screen or an iPhone screen, reading, searching, finding. Why am I not staring at a page and writing or reading? Wouldn't it be great to flip between books, between letters, between journals? It almost seems like a luxury, but it shouldn't be.

I love bookstores because they remind me of the glory of the written word. Books contain so many words, put together in beautiful combinations. I visited a fabulous one in Inverness this weekend called Leakey's. It was the perfect blend of old and new, and it even had a spiral staircase (one of my favorite architectural elements).

Leakey's Bookshop in Inverness, Scotland.

I love letters because they are a personal reminder of the heart of a person. Pouring out your soul in a letter is so cathartic. When I read a letter, I can see the handwriting, I can imagine the person, and I can hear them talking to me. I'm touched by the touch of someone's hand to paper, someone's connection through the paper to me.

Keep writing. Keep reading. Keep treasuring.

Lucky Strike of the Day: I received two letters from dear friends, and I was almost moved to tears. So much love.