Page 35 - PN140

By Michelle Tan Soo Lin (Malaysia) 文:陈思伶(马来西亚) Why I Send Postcards to Myself 为何要给自己寄明信片? Popular Malaysia’s Michelle Tan explains why she sends postcards to herself when travelling. 马来西亚大众陈思伶娓娓道来旅行时总爱寄明信 片给自己的缘由。 I u s e d to think that postcards are meant to be sent to friends and family when abroad. It had never crossed my mind to send postcards to myself, but I started doing so in 2011. Since then, I send myself postcards from wherever I travel to. Positive Messages to My Future Self Every postcard represents a place that I have visited. It takes up to four weeks for a postcard to reach my home, and so I always eagerly look forward to its arrival in my letterbox. Whenever it arrives, I am filled with a wonderful feeling of happiness, as well as a sense of relief because I always worry that it might be lost due to the long delivery time. Besides being a record of my feelings, my postcards also contain encouragements to my future self. When I look through them, these have never failed to inspire me to go further, to stay healthy, and to be more courageous in my personal or work life. Another Way of Reminiscing My Memories Besides looking at the photos that I have taken when travelling, postcards are another good way of recalling my travelling memories. There is a sense of permanence to the feelings that have been written down on the postcards. Travelling is not solely for the purposes of a getaway – it is a means of exploring the rest of the world. Through travelling, we learn about different cultures and ways of life. Writing down all my thoughts in the moment also reminds me of how fortunate I am to live in this beautiful and diverse world. My postcards also bring back memories of the places that I have been to. Therefore, I always try to choose postcards with the most representative images of these travel destinations. The postcards not only help me carry these memories back home, they also serve as a travel journal recording my experiences. A Great Interior Decoration My postcards have also become a part of my bedroom’s decoration. Now I am able to reminisce about my trips all over the world every day with just a glance. More importantly, the memories contained in these postcards are mine, compared to the art works and paintings that I could have bought from elsewhere. Instead of buying an ordinary gift for your family and friends when you are travelling, why not spend some time to pick a postcard and convey how special they are to you through a handwritten note? I have learnt more about the places that I have been by writing postcards. Even the experience of hunting for these postcards has become an important and enduring part of my travelling memories. “Insist on your dream, it will come true.” “持之以恒，梦必成真。” 140 popularnews - 35