As technology advances, we sometimes forget that past communication solely relied on pen and paper. Long forgotten is the practice of writing by hand, the exchange of handwritten letters; without realizing, we have switched to the convenience of emails and text messages and have abandoned the long-lasting art of handwriting letters and postcards.

But although letter writing seems hopelessly outdated in a world of smartphones and tablets, it is certainly an art worth bringing back.

For one thing, it’s the most personal form of communication that exists besides actually being face-to-face with another person. All the things that go into handwriting a letter — your palms graze against the paper, your saliva seals the envelope — it’s as personal as it gets. You open a letter and it’s the same piece of paper that the sender touched before they folded it and shipped it off to you. This exchange of skin cells doesn’t exist with texts or Facebook messages.

And, like our faces, our height and our shoe sizes, handwriting differs among each individual. It is said that one’s handwriting reflects his or her personality so it makes you wonder, do you really know someone if you’ve only ever communicated with them in times new roman?

Often times than not, I go through the motions of texting someone without actually paying attention to what I’m typing. Because the exchange of thoughts are now instantaneous, we don’t put in much thought into what we want to say, which means the messages we send to one another are increasingly less meaningful than ever. But when we decide to write letters, we sit down with a pen and paper and give our thoughts our undivided attention. We’re able to think before we say what we need to, without the constant ring of notifications flashing in our faces. In a world where technology trumps, it’s difficult to unplug but letter writing gives you an easy escape.

Hard as you might try, handwritten letters can’t be erased with a swipe of a finger or the depletion of your hard drive. Like those old photographs your parents took of you as a kid, letters and postcards are tangible lasting memories that you can look back on in 50 years and remember all the emotion you put into writing it. That smartphone that stores your 200-plus texts? In another 5 years that’ll be gone and so will all your meaningful messages. But handwritten letters are something of a timeless art, art that won’t disappear with an update of your phone or a change of your number.

So whether you’re keeping in contact with loved ones, studying abroad, or thanking someone, put down your phone, grab a pen and paper and give someone more than a lazy text or half-assed email. Give them something significant to hold on to: more emotion and less emoji.