Like everyone else, I was feeling a certain type of way at the beginning of the year. I was reflecting a lot on 2017, thinking about what was great and what was lacking. I had to comes to terms with the reality that my relationships with those around me existed primarily through a screen, instead of in real life. I couldn’t count how many times I thought, Damn. I haven’t seen so-and-so for a while. We should get together. And then I would get distracted, or look at my schedule and think, yikes, maybe in a week or two when things settle down – and then the next thing I knew months had gone by. Being able to see what people are up to on Instagram or Facebook is easy – no lunch hours or evenings have to be blocked, schedules don’t have to be compared and adjusted. We’ve become lazy with wanting to spend time with each other.

So I had a thought – how can I connect with the 10K+ people that “follow” me? How can I create a space for others who might be feeling the same way – disconnected?

I took inspiration from Post Secret, an ongoing art project started by Frank Warren in 2005. Could I convince the people that follow me to sit down, grab a pen and paper and write something to me? I didn’t want to set up an e-mail because that would make it hard to keep the submissions anonymous. I wanted the process to encourage people to take a small amount of time out of their busy day to do something for them self, to step outside their comfort zone a little.

Not really knowing what to expect, I started to get letters in the mail. Some folks sent photos, some people sent drawings. Some wrote poems or letters. Some were local, some were from out of state, some were from out of the country even.

I’ve been posting the letters to @letterstoastranger_ and keeping the letters in a safekeeping for a future collection of some kind. But in the meantime, I’d like to continue to foster a community for people who want to feel something, who want to get something off of their chest, who don’t want to feel alone.

So if you see this post, and you have something to say or share please write! There are no rules.

2nd Truth
Attn: Letters to a Stranger
1621 E. Hennepin Ave
Suite 125
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Colleen Eversman is a talented photographer at  2ndTruth, a woman’s activist and proud dog-momma to a small and spunky Pitbull mix named Ellie. She loves living in Minneapolis with her partner James and takes her coffee black.