A student from Singapore recently posted a request online asking San Franciscans to send postcards — or really any small token — from the city. Keychains, local snacks, greeting cards, a rock. The ask was simple, earnest, and translated into English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin, which is honestly more multilingual effort than most city agencies put into their public notices.

The request is for a personal collection, not resale. No GoFundMe. No Venmo link. Just a kid who wants a piece of San Francisco in their mailbox.

And it raises an interesting question: what do you send to represent this city in 2025?

As one SF resident put it, laughing at the images attached to the request: "It's so funny the pics you've chosen to represent SF are our terrible flag, a yellow taxi — a bit more of a symbol for NYC — Philz coffee which has had a huge plummet in local popularity (deservedly so), and a DoorDash bicycle." Fair points, all.

But here's the thing — the fact that someone on the other side of the Pacific still wants a piece of San Francisco says something. Despite everything — the deficit, the empty storefronts, the national punchline status — this city still holds a certain magic in the global imagination. The Golden Gate. The fog. The hills. The weird, stubborn beauty of the place.

We're not saying a postcard fixes anything. The budget is still a mess, SFMTA is still SFMTA, and your rent is still too high. But sometimes it's worth remembering that the city people dream about from 8,000 miles away is the same one you walk through every day.

So if you've got a spare postcard and a stamp — international postage to Singapore runs about $1.65 — maybe send one. It costs less than a single minute of city government overhead, and it'll probably bring more joy.

Small acts of goodwill between strangers: no bureaucracy required.