The Last Message Received has caught the attention of the internet for its heartbreaking posts revealing the last messages people got from former friends, ex-partners and deceased family.
The Tumblr page was launched by Emily Trunko, a 15-year-old student at Ohio Virtual Academy. It showcases a world where, with texting the go-to form of communication for so many people, unfinished conversations are a common occurrence.
It has struck a chord with a lot of users – accumulating more than 2,500 submissions since it was created a few weeks ago – with people submitting letters and text messages in order to share them anonymously. Some of the messages are short, some are longer. Some are mean and some are just plain sad.
In an interview for Buzzfeed, Emily admitted that since creating the page she’s become more conscious of her own text messages.
I’ve always been fascinated with glimpses into the lives of other people. I thought that the last message sent before a breakup or before someone passed away would be really poignant. Every message I send to them could be the last one I ever exchange and every message I receive could be the last one I receive.
The poignant messages appear in a column of text bubbles containing a range of emotions and it’s hard to look away from the stark endings, many of which are simply left hanging with the most heartbreaking posts showing the last conversations between friends before one of them dies.
The Last Message Received is Emily’s second Tumblr project after she created Dear My Blank earlier this year where more than 17,000 people asked her to post anonymous letters that they will never send.
It seems that Emily has hit on a winning formula – the topic of love lost is common to everyone and is the perfect match for a platform like Tumblr. It is also a uniquely anonymous outlet for all those emotions you need to let fly. Don’t bottle it up guys.
