Roz Crews

Finding Stephanie Smith
2014

UPDATE-
I found Stephanie.

After trying a lot of different types of internet searches, reaching out to the Guardian UK, and doing a lot of research about how to find long lost pen pals, I decided to fly home to Florida to find the original letters from Stephanie.

When I found the letters, I got to reread the book that we collaborated on in 1998, "Hello Everyone I Have Come Back to See You All." Here are a few of my favorite pages.

Here are a couple images of the original letters.

Once I found the letters, I had her original address. I sent a simple note to her old address on August 20, 2014.

On September 6, I got a new friend request on Facebook from Steph Horner. She also responded to the check box on this website, she could help me find Stephanie Smith. She sent a follow up email, too. Her family doesn't live at that address anymore, but a friend of her mom got the letter from the current residents. The letter eventually made its way to Stephanie about nine miles away.

Original Call for Assistance-

Hi,

I’m writing to you because I think you might be able to help me achieve a very simple goal.

In 1997, when I was seven years old, my family went on vacation in St. Petersburg, Florida in the USA. We stayed there for about three days, and during that time, I developed a life-changing relationship with a young girl, Stephanie Smith, from Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. I am from Florida, and I had never met anyone from another country before. We instantly connected because of our shared love for Mickey Mouse and the Spice Girls. For three days, we played together like sisters. As an only child, I rarely opened up to friends, and to develop this type of relationship with a stranger was rare for me.

Stephanie went back to England, and we tried to remain in contact. We wrote letters, sent birthday cards and beanie babies and exchanged photos for a little over one year. In our communications, we shared about our interests and our commonalities (mostly our love for pets, the Spice Girls and our friends). We never wrote about the differences in our lives. The letters from Stephanie are plain observations of her every day life. We came from different backgrounds and different cultures, but we were able to interact on a very basic level. This might be a special quality that all children have, to see past differences and appreciate people for their shared conditions. I'm not sure why some adults try to nourish this quality while others forget about it, but I do hope that I always remember to treasure commonalities and respect differences.

In 1998, I sent Stephanie a drawing of a cat named Toy, and I requested that she give him a tour of somewhere in England (this was an assignment from my third grade teacher, Mrs. Schmeling). She sent a book back that she wrote from Toy's perspective. It's called "Hello Everyone I Have Come Back To See You All." In the book she includes details about the city of York, personal details about her life and family, photographs and post-cards. The photos picture her holding the drawing of Toy in front of landmarks in England.

Now, fourteen years after our last communication, I want to find Stephanie Smith and thank her for the impact she had on my life. She helped me learn to value friendship and gave me my first intimate understanding of a different culture. I think everyone can relate to a search for a long lost friend, and my hope in publishing this story is to inspire others to reach out to someone who has helped change their life in a positive way. 

Can you help me find Stephanie Smith?

Thanks,

Roz