Scott Weston, 21, is the latest, and the youngest in a long line of forward thinking youngsters who have taken to the World Wide Web to leave their memories and legacies behind. How? – By opening an account with online letter service, www.leavealetter.com.
With over 50 percent of members from the site under the age of 30, the wish to leave a memento behind has never been so clear among today’s youth.
Scott heard about the site via word-of-mouth from his friend’s mother and began to question what he would like to be remembered for, and then how he would like his parent’s to remember him, should fate take a different turn.
When his close childhood friend was involved in a horrific motorcycling accident, he was devastated. With only a 50 percent chance of survival, images, memories and last words raced through Scott’s mind.
Scott said: "I had been at school with this guy and his younger brother and as I have a brother too, it made me realise how I would have felt if it had been my own brother in an accident.” His accident really scared and upset me. It made me think that life is really precious and so I wanted to make sure everyone I love, knows exactly how I feel about them and has something to remember me by."
Fortunately my friend made a full recovery but the thought still sends shivers down his spine.
With a keen eye for graphics and design, Scott was impressed with the clear layout and aesthics of the Leave a Letter website that was recommended to him and this combined with the simple-to-use registration process was the deciding factor for him to join up immediately.
Scott said: "I am really close to my parents and my friends, but other people my age may not be. It still doesn’t mean I tell my parents absolutely everything and that can include how I feel towards them deep down. I wanted to be able to write letters to them both that would reflect and show how I really felt – it’s not something I can express very easily on a day to day basis just like most people – but I felt it was important for them to know."
"I work with an audiovisual company and so I really appreciate the fact that the website was user-friendly and easy on the eye. If it wasn’t, I don’t think I would have joined up so quickly! It was simple to register and I could start writing straight away – which made me feel comfortable writing down how I felt." Although his own mortality is not an immediate concern for Scott, he maintains that you can never tell what will happen in the future, and that it is never too early to think ahead. The website was created with this in mind and caters for all ages. With two letters already written and saved on the site, Scott is keen to add more at a later date.
Scott added: "One of the things I liked most about the site was that it is secure and it is really easy to go back and change or add to what you’ve written, at any time." As Scott travels a lot for his work, he finds it reassuring to know that, should anything happen to him, his loved ones will be able to access the letters and take comfort from what he has written. With an increase in younger people joining the site, Angie Mills, co-founder of leavealetter.com, commented: "It’s never easy to think that we may pass away someday and that all that we wish to have told a loved one may be left unsaid. Young, old, ill or healthy, you can never change fate and that is why we created Leave a Letter. It allows people to have their ‘second chance’ at letting loved ones know how they lived their lives; their most cherished shared moments or even their most embarrassing ones!"
Jill Green, also a co-founder of leavealetter.com, added: "The letter that I received from my father after his death gave me great comfort and a way to remember our relationship. Leaving a will is purely about resolving financial concerns, but by writing a personal letter you are taking a positive step towards giving your loved ones something tangible to hold on to that is a lasting reminder of your time spent together.”"
Leavealetter.com was founded by best friends Jill Green and Angie Mills, both of whom have lost loved ones and know first-hand the impact of receiving such a letter.
For further information please contact:
Becky Barr / Deepika Bharadwa
hblmedia
020 7612 1830
Becky@hblmedia.com
Deepikar@hblmedia.com
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