Monday, November 2, 2009

Facebook- It's a Beautiful Thing

I'm a very social person - although I do enjoy my quiet time as well. Throughout my childhood - into teen hood- into adulthood- I could always be found with people. Socializing, laughing, playing, and just having a good time.

Even though my graduating class from high school had 494 of us, I was pretty close with many people in there. Yeah- I was a band geek and to make matters worse, I was also a book geek. So those were the peeps I were closest too. Yanno- we had so much in common. Playing cards in the SAC (pack rat that I am, I still have all of my passes for SAC- yeah- I'm odd) - marching band - sax quartet- stage band, yada yada the list goes on.

I was friends with people in the class before and after me as well. Graduation is typically termed "Commencement Ceremonies". Until you've actually lived through the event and resulting decisions, it's hard to fully comprehend what that means. Commencement means to start something new. A new chapter in your life, if you will.

Unfortunately for me, starting that new chapter resulted in an erosion of friendships that I had in high school. As social as I am- I've never been one to just pick up the phone and call someone out of the blue. Especially when I was a college kid - fixed income- and a 10 minute phone call was about $5.00. Not to mention that we had to keep up with phone numbers. Then - after graduating college- what weak ties I had, were severed further in the move and commencement of my job.

So- I made new friends and still continued to be the social butterfly that I am. I always went to the reunions and reconnected- but even then- it was difficult to keep the connections. Email just didn't work. Phones just didn't work...

Then- a beautiful thing happened- the advent of the social networking medium known as facebook. I joined it in its infancy when I was in grad school. That was before just "anyone" could join. Now- I'm glad they opened it up to more than just students, because - man alive- it's really great for reconnecting.

I lost touch with cousins over the years. Through facebook, I've reconnected with my cousins from the Buffalo area. In fact, I never really knew my cousin Jennifer all that well as she's 12 years younger and lived over 3 hours away. Now, we're pretty good friends and when I went to visit her this July, I was fortunate enough to meet the gentleman that is her future husband. She's a great confidante and I'm so glad I reconnected with her. I am also glad I reconnected with my other "Buffalo" cousins. I also reconnected with other family members and family members of friends.

I've also reconnected with many high school friends. Some I found- some found me. Heck, on facebook, it's almost like we're back in high school with the banter and juvenile antics. Through facebook, I've been able to connect with wonderful people that I never really knew in high school, but since we have that common bond, we've become facebook friends and banter back and forth. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the class of '79's reunion this summer even though that wasn't my class. Made even more friends than I had before. If I attempt to name anyone, I'll inadvertently slight someone, so y'all know who you are.. and some of us are planning trips together (to Philly, to Fla, etc).

One of the best finds I had on facebook was my BFF from high school, Reenie. Now that we've reconnected, it's like we've never been apart. We talk about everything and anything and help each other out through difficult times. Even though she lives in Peru now, it's like we're back in high school and talk on almost a daily basis. I *am* going to get down to visit her sometime and do a trek on the Inca trail. Awesome trip with an awesome friend.

Yeah, facebook is good for those games - some I play, like Mafia Wars or Slots. Some I'm just too stupid to get, like Farmville, Pet Society, Mob Wars, etc. Facebook is also good for putting photos out there for your friends to see when they wish to.

I am a facebook fanatic, mostly due to the good it's brought me in reconnected friends and the forging of new friendships. It's the perfect mechanism for me to maintain friendships. Sure, there are some that will require the phone for contact, but the limited number are easier to handle now.

So- here's to you, my facebook friends - I'm glad we have this means to keep in touch with one another, and for some, to get to know each other better.

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