Postcrossing Digest 2025
Another year in postcrossing and here is the digest of 2025. Check my postcard activities at Collections/Postcards.
Slow Mail in a Fast World: 2025 Overview
The transition from high school to university is often described as a leap, but for me, it felt more like a shift in time zones. Suddenly, the rhythm of life accelerated. Looking back at the Spring semester of 2024 and the Fall semester of 2025, the blur of academic rigors, orientation events, and the sheer mental load of “First Year” adjustments took center stage.
Mailbox Ritual
University life demands a specific kind of focus. Between lectures, assignments, and the general navigation of campus life, the mental bandwidth required to sit down and write a thoughtful message to a stranger simply wasn’t there. For the bulk of 2024 and 2025, the only windows of time I could truly dedicate to active Postcrossing were the Winter and Summer breaks.
There is a distinct phenomenon that every postcard collector knows: the “travel time.” A card sent from Germany or Taiwan might take three weeks, or it might take three months. Because of this lag, the seeds I planted during my breaks would often bloom in my mailbox right when I was in the thick of midterms.
Ending a busy day—one filled with complex theories, crowded cafeterias, and glowing screens—by opening my physical mailbox became a grounding ritual. Finding a stack of postcards piling up inside is a specific kind of serotonin boost. It’s tactile. It’s real. In a day dominated by digital notifications and emails, holding a piece of cardstock that has traveled thousands of miles to reach me feels almost miraculous.
I would take them upstairs, brew a cup of tea, and just read. For twenty minutes, I wasn’t a student worrying about grades and grasping in experiment reports and problem sets; I was a traveler seeing the world through someone else’s handwriting.
Language Barriers and Abstract Aesthetics
I began receiving cards written in languages I couldn’t immediately understand, or even recognize its handwriting. Far from being frustrating, this was exhilarating. It turned the act of reading mail into a detective game. It forced me to engage with the card on a deeper level, perhaps using translation tools or simply appreciating the aesthetic beauty of different scripts.
I received a surprising number of abstract cards—swirls of color, geometric shapes, and interpretive designs. I found myself drawn to these much more than I expected. Perhaps it’s because my days are filled with structured learning and logical data; abstract art offers a necessary escape into the undefined.
An abstract postcard doesn’t tell you what to see; it asks you how you feel. Reading a message from a stranger on the back of a piece of abstract art feels like a double layer of mystery. It invites imagination. It fits the mood of a late night in the dorms, when the world is quiet and the mind is wandering.
Thank You
As I organize my collection and place these cards into albums, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
To the people who sent me mail in 2025: Thank you. Thank you for your patience when I was slow to register cards because of exams. Thank you for sharing your art, your languages, and your daily lives with me.
Here is to 2026—to more stamps, more strange languages, more art, and the enduring magic of the written word.
2025, In Numbers Again
In 2025, 27 postcards were sent to strangers all over the world, and 28 found their way to me. Most postcards come from America accounting for 11 cards, followed by Germany with 7 cards. 4 of my sent cards went to Germany, making it the most popular destination for my postcards.
2025 Postcrossing Postcard Gallery
Thank you for reading so far, since not everyone enjoy large paragraphs of emotional writing. Below is the gallery of all postcards I received in 2025, sorted by the date they were received.
UA-2014590
Received from Iwanka (Ukraine) on 2025-11-15, which is 7,462 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
RU-10610899
Received from Irina_Nechay (Russia) on 2025-11-15, which is 6,944 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
US-11710942
Received from iamrivascancun (USA) on 2025-11-15, which is 11,657 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-15792605
Received from Annika2000 (Germany) on 2025-11-05, which is 8,498 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
FI-4865685
Received from Minna71 (Finland) on 2025-11-05, which is 7,433 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
US-11710933
Received from spencerbarker (USA) on 2025-11-05, which is 9,195 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
BE-972211
Received from Lorangeophile (Belgium) on 2025-11-01, which is 9,028 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
BY-3375744
Received from Annochka_bel (Belarus) on 2025-11-01, which is 7,506 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-15792609
Received from Levana (Germany) on 2025-11-01, which is 8,980 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-15792612
Received from vanessa_167 (Germany) on 2025-11-01, which is 8,816 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
ES-861326
Received from AmparoRams (Spain) on 2025-11-01, which is 10,060 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
FR-1830056
Received from Cilou (France) on 2025-11-01, which is 9,281 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
RU-10610900
Received from OlegIl (Russia) on 2025-11-01, which is 7,109 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
US-11710931
Received from hbello (USA) on 2025-11-01, which is 11,198 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
US-11710991
Received from LorenLee (USA) on 2025-11-01, which is 11,813 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
US-11710930
Received from edrahe (USA) on 2025-11-01, which is 11,619 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
US-11710932
Received from SnoopyGirl (USA) on 2025-11-01, which is 11,842 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
AT-822279
Received from radiofan (Austria) on 2025-10-29, which is 8,614 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-15792606
Received from Traumstrand (Germany) on 2025-10-29, which is 8,867 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
MY-696283
Received from sinpingg (Malaysia) on 2025-10-29, which is 3,774 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-15792607
Received from bua1705 (Germany) on 2025-10-25, which is 8,704 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-15872106
Received from Jessica-Roth (Germany) on 2025-10-25, which is 8,515 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
US-11776879
Received from sunandsea (USA) on 2025-10-25, which is 9,914 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
US-10963959
Received from heatherness (USA) on 2025-02-20, which is 10,507 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
RU-10353741
Received from Olgamif (Russia) on 2025-02-20, which is 6,380 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
BY-3247694
Received from Lanna_Booth (Belarus) on 2025-01-12, which is 7,426 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-14928448
Received from Mausepaul (Germany) on 2025-01-12, which is 8,401 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
FI-4728370
Received from Ennimuru (Finland) on 2025-01-12, which is 7,480 km away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
