It makes complete sense to prefer postcards over envelopes. They’re more fun, more immediate, more likely to be from friends than strangers. Envelopes require more effort, and they’re more likely to be junk mail. But still, it would be absolutely crazy to only look at postcards and refuse to open envelopes. You’d miss really important mail. You’d miss bills that need to be paid; you’d miss checks sent to you; you’d miss longer, more personal letters. Before online applications, you’d miss your college applications and you’d miss college acceptance letters. Just saying “I don’t open envelopes” and expecting any kind of success would be unthinkable.

And yet, in these more modern times with the internet and smart phones, too many high school students do the same thing. They’ll read texts, Twitter DMs, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp…almost anything but email. I’ve heard way too many high school students casually say “I never check email.” And I want to make clear that never checking email and expecting any kind of success is equally unthinkable.