Allow Me To (Re-) Introduce Myself

Hello, folks. How's life?

Well, as the blog has recently undergone some drastic reconstruction (including both a template and name change), I decided it might be a good idea to re-introduce myself, for two simple reasons:

1. I have new followers that only discovered the blog long after the original introduction.
2. The blog's purpose has changed.

The purpose of Swap and Snail Mails is to help me keep track of and organize both my incoming and outcoming mail. And, if it's possible, I'd like to use the blog for finding new penpals and swap partners.

So, before we get into all that, here's a little bit of basic information about me.

I'm Shelby. I'm seventeen years old and a high school graduate (unofficial until 5-24-2012). Unlike most people my age, I don't like hanging out with my peers. Time not at school or work is what I consider "Me Time", and I like for "Me Time" to be just so. I have no interest in going out on a Friday night when I can spend it in the comfort of my own home, entertaining my two most passionate hobbies: Swapping and Snail Mailing.

Here's what I'm looking for.

Penpals- I am always, always looking for new snail mail correspondence. For me, finding a letter in my P.O. Box is the most exciting thing that can happen. I want to hear from you. I want to know your story- your quirks, your talents, your obsessions, your regrets, your religion, your favorite foods and worst pet peeves, your bad habits, your job, your kids, your day. I will be more than thrilled to receive anything you want to offer, whether it's as simple as a list of your favorite songs, a collection of quotes that inspire you, or 100 random facts about you - (By the way, I dare somebody to do this. If you do, I'll give it a go as well.) My promise to you is that if you take the time to send me something, I will ALWAYS write back.

If you're interested in being penpals, you can find a full profile here.

Swap Partners- I'm new to the whole swapping thing. In fact, I only discovered my love for it two days ago, upon the disovery of SendSomething.net. Now I'm an active member of both S2 and Swap-Bot.org. I think the only thing that would make me happier than just a letter in the mail would be a letter with goodies attached!

Here are a few things I have available to trade 99% of the time:

• Buttons
• Ribbons
• American candy
• American coins
• Postcards

And here are a list of the things I'm most interested in receiving. Keep in mind these aren't the only things I'd be happy to get (there are dozens more; see the links below), but the things I'm currently eager for are:

• Foreign candy
• Foreign coins
• Postcards
• ATCs.
• T-Shirts.

If you're interested in being swap partners, you can find me on Sendsomething.net and Swap-Bot.org.

Lastly, as there's nothing I love more than surprises, if you feel like sending me a postcard, letter, or any other random act of kindness, you can send them to me at:

Shelby Anne
P.O. Box 455
Bauxite, AR 72011

I'll always return the favor.

Swaps

04.25.2012
First off, I must say it's been an awesome week for snail mail! I've met two new people on IP- Laura in Finland and Cazzie in the UK, both of whom I sent letters out to today. Monday I received a letter from Aliaa in Egypt, and sent a reply on Tuesday. <3 I received postcards of London and Paris from my new friend Nana, a postcrossing card from Finland, and today I received letters from Almante and Melanie as well as a post card from Rachel, who discovered my penpal ad on Penpal of the Week.

So, thanks to everyone who's made me a happy camper every day this week!

In other news, I've recently discovered a love for swapping. This is mostly due to Swapsomething.net, which I discoved on someone's blog (I can't remember whose), which I in turn discovered -once again- from Penpal of the Week.

Anyway, if you're interested in swapping things and haven't heard of them, both Sendsomething.net and Swap-Bot.org are fantastic sites for organizing such events. You can find me on S2 as Shelby and on SB as Beh. I have yet to participate in any swaps or receive any random acts of kindness from S2, but here's hoping! :)

Catching Up and Some Big News

04.21.2012
Okay, so! I haven't been keeping up with my blog as well as I would like. I haven't posted anything about my incoming/outcoming mail in a long while, which is disheartening because that was the original purpose of the blog in the first place. So, while I don't remember what all has come in since my last post, I just wanted to list some of the mail that's gone out this week:

4/21- Letters sent to Kate, Ashley and Victoria.
4/19- Book sent back to Bri!

I've also received quite a few postcards lately. I need to learn how to operate my scanner so I can upload images, because some of them have been so cute I want to brag on them!

In other news, I finished reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth- which is the book I sent back to Bri earlier this week. I have to admit, it was my very first zombie book and I was iffy about it at first. But now I've borrowed my aunt's Kindle to read the two sequels, and I'm on a huge post-apocalyptic kick. I've even gone back and started re-reading The Host.

And now on to the afore-mentioned (not-mail-related) BIG NEWS.

Wednesday, my mother and I drove up to a private college about two hours away for a tour. I'd been to the campus once before for "Honors Day", when there were dozens of other seniors competing for scholarships and touring and whatnot. The crowd and the original scholarship that that first day offered were very discouraging, and since then I'd talked myself into staying in town, keeping my job and just taking online classes at a tech school. I'd even told my dad I didn't plan on going anywhere, and he was pretty relieved because he doesn't want me to go away.

Since that first day in November, the college has done all the figuring and it turns out I got more money than they previously expected. Meaning, it's now within reach, but I was still a little bitter and had my mind made up that I would be content to stay at home for college.

So, the whole drive up there I kept telling mysef it was a waste of time, I didn't want to go, I didn't want to want to go there, etc. I told myself over and over again that I was going to hate it.

....Well. Then we pulled onto campus, and the first thing we saw was a sign (not a paper sign; a real, printed metal sign) on the first parking spot, saying it was reserved for guest Shelby.

Right. Guess who bawled.

After that, my resolved faltered. I ended up loving the dorms and I already knew I loved the cafeteria, and I found myself drawn in by all the promise of their unique classes and outdoor, extraciricular programs.

That said, guess who's going away to college this fall! As a very rooted, very dependent person, I'll admit I'm pretty terrified. I'm socially awkward and don't know how I'm going to survive on my own when I still rely on my mom to pack my lunch for me. But at the same time, I know this is something that I need to do. It'll be good for me, whether I get up there and adjust like I'm sure I will, and even if I don't. It's going to be a learning experience, an it's such a great opportunity.

My dad's out of town, so even though I've called to tell him, I'm not sure how he really feels about it. I know my parents are both proud of me, but I've done my fair share of crying because I know they're going to miss me. I'll miss them too, but for now I'm going to keep reminding myself this is exciting.