truthfulorange

I'm a bit of a newbie, so please spare me some patience!

I'm a recent-ish high school grad, currently on a gap year and still really not sure what I want to do in the future, but I'm doing my best to figure it out.

I ended up here from going down the penpalling rabbit-hole on YouTube, penpalling being a long-standing interest of mine that I've never gotten to do as much as I might like, even in digital forms. I've been penpalling on SLOWLY on-and-off for close to 5 years now, and I recently got involved with Letters to Strangers and More Love Letters. Yet, somehow, it's not enough to satisfy me and my incessant need to send and recieve mail. Hence my coming here.

Aside from writing and crafting (see below), I love doing jigsaw puzzles and playing video games (my favorites recently being Genshin Impact and TLOU). I'm a bit of a language nerd; I can speak French, am trying to pick up some Japanese, and am flirting with the idea of learning Polish. I've also been learning to cook and my sister and I are trying to grow our own bell peppers. I can play guitar, but I'm a bit out of practice.

I've dabbled in a large number of crafts, yet I always find myself looking for new ones to try.

I can write. I can draw - I do better with paper than digitally, but I've done both. I'm not a terrible painter but probably not a particularly great one either. I'd like to learn to make stickers.

I sew, mostly to mend and alter my clothes, but I also sometimes make completely new garments. I've been hoarding fabric scraps—the bigger ones for patchwork projects and the smaller ones to use as patches when I repair my clothes. I've dabbled a little in embroidery, too, mostly for the sake of visible mending, but I'm honestly more likely to turn embroidery floss into bracelets.

I crochet and knit. Mostly, I crochet coasters and dishcloths, and I knit socks (very slowly). I started with crochet in June '23 and knitting in Oct. '23.

I've dabbled in book-binding, which has yieled one disappointing would-be daily planner and one surprisingly good journal. I still have a ways to go, but my next goal is to be able to print and bind some of my own writing together as a book. I'd also love to try my hand at making my own junk journal. On a related note, I want to get into making zines.

I'll occasionally make a beaded necklace when I can borrow some of my sister's supplies. I like to believe that I could whittle a spoon if I tried, but I honestly doubt it. I like DIY in general, any opportunity to try to repurpose what might otherwise be trash.

I think that's it for crafty stuff I've done. I know it says "favorite crafts" but I honestly can't pick favorites. I love them all!

I've been really into J-pop lately and I've always listened to lots of emo, pop-punk and rock. Current favorites: YOASOBI, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, All Time Low.

I like both literary fiction and genre fiction, and I lean towards more recent releases as opposed to classics (though I'm always happy to read classic dystopians). Some of my favorites are The Housekeeper and the Professor, The House in the Cerulean Sea, and A Man Called Ove. Most recently, I read and enjoyed SVSSS.

Some of my favorites have been My Hero Academia, She-Ra (2018), Avatar: the Last Airbender and Avatar: the Legend of Korra (this might be controversial, but I actually liked Korra better than ATLA), and Yu-Gi-Oh! (the 90s Toei anime, Duel Monsters, GX, and VRAINS).

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Silver Skates (2020), Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Anastasia (1997)

These are just some favorites and ideas, so please don't feel obligated to closely follow this list! As long as you stay away from anything I've explicitly said not to send, I'll be happy.

General likes:

• Colors: bright yellows, muted oranges, lilac or dark purple, dark/navy blues, black & white, beige, earth tones
• Animals: insects & spiders, foxes, red pandas, lemurs, cats, dinosaurs, birds, dragons, marine animals, woodland creatures.
• Forest, woodlands, anything you could call "goblincore"
• Celestial, astronomy, astrology, and anything you could call "whimsigoth"
• Marine and nautical
• Childish or nostalgic (especially late 2000s-early 2010s).
• Anything you could call "witchy"
• Anything colorful or fun
• Anything related to any of the favorites listed above

Items:

• Handwritten notes (could be about ANYTHING)
• A ticket from your local train/subway
• Small amounts of non-US currency (coins or paper notes)
• If you're outside the US, your favorite local candy (no tree nuts!)
• A playing card or trading card (especially Yu-Gi-Oh! cards).
• Art (even if it's just some doodles)
• Anything you made yourself, really
• Photos
• Quotes (including both serious and funny ones)
• Zines on any subject
• STICKERS. Literally any stickers, no matter how ugly. Similarly, washi tape of any design.
• Yarn swatches. I'd love to fill a little book with them.
• Tea. I don't particularly like black tea, but I'd be down to try anything else.
• Return address labels of any design
• Scrap fabric, ribbons, embroidery floss, thread, buttons, that sort of stuff.

Please no:

• Glitter, confetti, or anything else that might make a mess when I open the envelope.
• Attempts to convert me. I don't mind religious imagery or bible verses, but keep it to a minimum.

Other:

• I prefer envelopes with a square flap rather than a triangle if possible because I find them easier to open without damaging the envelope.