Fuck the idea that I can change someone's heart even one percent by writing the perfect letter. I've spent half my year composing a letter in my head to you that would pull you over to my side, to make you understand everything, to make you fall in love with me. And whenever I finally write that letter it just makes things worse. But it's not because love letters are worthless. It's because love letters are too powerful. The reader is overwhelmed by the thought and consideration put into every sentence, and they realize how they don't put nearly that much thought and consideration into anything regarding you, and they just cut all the ropes tying them into this thing and just bail. When what you really hoped they would do is open the letter and read it carefully and clutch it to their heart and smile fondly and put it in their hope chest or whatever and instantly book a plane ticket or do whatever they have to do to come see you. In reality, they don't scour over every word like it's a vital piece of nutrition they are soaking up. In fact they probably just skip over whole sentences. Whole sentences! Sentences that you agonized over, trying to find the right words! They just scan past them looking for phrases that stick out. But you weren't writing it to have phrases that stick out. You were writing about your feelings. You weren't composing a newspaper headline.
Nick Jaina, “Get It While You Can” (Unsent Love Letter #8)
