I went out for a (just about) weekly outing for tea (well actually, boba) with my friends today. I had a wonderful time talking to them, as always, and I love that everyone makes the effort to meet up whenever they can just to be in each others' company and to catch up on our lives.
Earlier there was talk on EDCF about the use of Facebook (see here). In a nutshell, they were talking about how the forum acted as a "Facebook" for its members. For many, that was true. Many of the forum members spend their time catching up and keeping in contact with other forum members. I can personally attest to that.
I do not have a Facebook account. And when I did, I found that my relationships were shallow. I didn't really know my friends, nor they, me. I didn't care for the Facebook games, "pokes," having the most "friends," etc. It was all... fake. I didn't feel like I was actually living my life, spending so much time in front of the computer screen.
Eventually, I gave up my account. I've been without one for a couple of years now, and I have no inkling to even get back onto it. It was a little nice to find old acquaintances from when I was younger, but most of the time (if not all of the time), it was just a quick "Hey! Remember me? We used to go to school together!" and then they fade into the background again.
When I gave up my account, nobody really noticed. That is, nobody but my true friends. These friends have been by my side since Grade 7. As soon as the account was deleted, they called/texted/e-mailed within 24 hours, wondering where I was and if I was okay. I didn't bother "announcing" that I was leaving Facebook, because face it, it's useless - I don't want that sort of attention and I didn't want anybody telling me otherwise. Mostly, I just didn't want to seem like an "attention seeker," as I found publicly announcing the deletion of one's account to be almost equivalent to the virtual version of "Nobody notices me. I'm going to go kill/cut myself." (Not to take it to that extreme, but that's just an example.)
I think giving up my Facebook account was the best decision ever. I was able to get a lot more stuff done in my life. Most importantly, I learned who my true friends were. I wouldn't trade that knowledge for the world. Having true friends is important to me. We're like family and that's never going to change. We're there for each other's sadness and happiness, challenges and triumphs...
In the decade that I've known these people, we've all gone our separate ways in our lives. Some of us studied abroad, others out of state. But no matter what, everybody makes the effort to keep in contact, be it via text, e-mail, phone calls, Facebook (for them), or even through hand written letters and cards. Every year, no matter where we are in the world, we make sure that we meet up for our annual holiday get together and dinner. It's something I look forward to every year and it's something I'm proud of. I have a lot of pride in the friendship that I hold with this close knit group of friends.
P, R, K, J... you'll forever be family in my eyes. :)
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