September 25 Delectable Discourse #1: “What Would You Include in a Love Letter?” by Emily Rawlings

Although it is not February, the month of love, the beginning of school brings students together, and when students are together, fierce feelings are inevitably elicited from fellow scholars, so in this first issue of Delectable Discourse, where I ask students a scrumptious new question each month, I asked college students what they would include in a love letter, what they have included in a love letter, or what they would advise others to put in their love letters. Their responses were as follows.

“I would include the names of our future children.”

-Anonymous tutor

“I made a love letter that had comic strips in it because the person I liked couldn’t visualize things in their head. See, it wasn’t romantic at all because the comic strips were Doctor Who themed, and it was a self-insert of us. We went on an interdimensional date in the comic strip.” -Dr. Who-wanna-be (self-described)

“I would never give someone a love letter because I would need to know they like me first. In the letter, I would put a checkbox to determine whether they have sent me a love letter first. It will be delivered only if I was first a recipient.” -Anonymous instructor who everyone knows (self-described)

“Show that you have an understanding of the person. You can love someone without having an understanding of them. By showing you understand the person, you show you care about who they are.” -Anonymous

A list of songs that remind me of that person.”

 -Anonymous

“Raccoon teeth. Umm, a little piece of my hair that has been braided. A picture of my feet. Other things I have sent in letters: stickers, drawings. What else do I send in a love letter? Obviously, a declaration of my undying love and how cute their butt is. What a cute booty. A picture of Lucy is MANDATORY! They have to love my dog, preferably more than they love me.” -Hannah

“I remember I wrote a love letter you burn, and I basically described every time they made me smile.” -Amy

“Features-wise, I would include glitter (depends how in love I am). With my boyfriend, I would try to make 3D objects and include jokes (and you can do so if you have humor).” -Estefani

“Because there is only one person I would write a love letter to, I would include a poem that reminded me of that person, because my person always gives me poems.” -Dr. B

“Lipstick kiss, spray my perfume on it. In all of my letters, I draw little doodles of cats. Stickers.” -Andrea

“I would start by maybe working on the design to see how long it will be. Maybe make a frame out of red, maybe some hearts, some flowers. Maybe the type of flower that your other might love. What I do normally is include a small gift, like a necklace. For writing, I start my writing by calling her a loving nickname, and then I give her thanks for the love she has given me. Then, I recall some particular moments that have been remarkable for both us. Then, I restate my love for her and make sure she knows how much I love her. Finally, I express to her my strong desire of one day to form a family and work together for our personal and couple projects.” -Adan

“I would put my heart in it, like physically. I would take some pliers, provide a hole within my chest between my ribs with that there pliers, and then take my grimy little hand and take that sucker (without equipping hand sanitizer) and then I guess I’ll take it out, and then I’ll put all my heart and soul into that love letter” --hermana of the author (self-described)