355+ Love Letters for Frida

“This is the most beautiful thing I have ever received,” Frida said, crying and laughing at the same time. When my sister ́s letter request was posted in February, I was jittery with excitement. But I didn’t actually realize what was happening until I got the first letter out of our mailbox.

In the following weeks, my mom and I read through all the lovely words. On some days we received five letters, on other days ten and then there were days with 30 letters. Our collecting box filled up with love from all over the world and it was just heartwarming to see that there are so many wonderful people everywhere on this planet.

Frida got funny letters, poetic ones, personal letters, long and deep texts, and powerful, cheering slogans. The only thing they all have in common is their beauty.

Originally, we had been planning to take our time and wait for all letters to arrive, but at the end of February I knew that Frida needed the letters as soon as possible. She was in a down phase again, so I decided to already give them to her in the first week of March.

We spent an afternoon bundling up all the letters: I stuck old postage stamps all over a big box, pasted all the letters up again and sorted them by color and size.

Then we placed the box in her room while she was at soccer practice. She came back late in the evening and was entirely confused when she saw the bundle. The first thing she asked was: “What have I done? How did I earn this?” She started to read the letter request and the first letters and when I came to her, I saw the emotion on her face. She was overwhelmed and deeply moved. Crying and laughing at the same time she told me: “This is the most beautiful thing I ́ve ever gotten.”

This was the moment I was entirely sure that nominating Frida was the best decision I ́ve ever made. Your 350+ letters have a great impact. You help Frida through a difficult time in her life. Your stories make her laugh, your advice gives her more security, your words motivate her, and your kindness strengthens her. I think your letters make her see herself and the world a little clearer. They help to make the foggy clouds dwindle and let her sunshine become even brighter.

I nominated my sister for a bundle of love letters because I wanted a few flowers to fly to her as love letters. Well, she received a whole flowery meadow of colorful bloom. Thank you! Thanks a lot, to you, all the letter writers, and thanks a lot, to you, the MLL team for doing what you do!”