Joan Didion wrote, “I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not." She obviously doesn't have a Facebook. What was once a private stroll through memory lane, where everything is colored by our blissfully terrible memory and all the benefits of a wonderfully complex coping method of straight out lying to yourself to protect your ego, is now a terrible experience of hard facts and statuses that seem to be expressly written to make your present self cringe.

But it's winter quarter and there are only so many ways to procrastinate, so the next time you're not doing the p-set due the next day, consider these 5 reasons to never stalk yourself on Facebook and the 5 reasons to do it.

1. Ignorance is bliss.

There are some things about our past that are better left forgotten - and unfortunately, we don't always have the foresight to see that while it's happening. This can range from the mundane to the embarrassing. Don't remember that one time you ate cereal for breakfast in 2010? Facebook does! Or remember when you were so sure of your opinion which you can now see is extremely wrong? No? Facebook does!

2. There are some questions better left unanswered.

Why are all our picture captions vaguely philosophical with no hint of irony? Why is our irony so cringeworthy - what is it about old statuses written by your 13 - year old self that make you want to scream, "You're not cool!!"

3. Some loves don't age well.

Remember how your middle school crush who was formative to your currently passive aggressive romantic endeavors was actually just a weird kid? No? It's okay - Facebook does. But this doesn't just apply to a crush - it can also point to all those pages you liked back in the day when it was called "following" a page.

4. We all went through a regrettable lingo phase - we're probably going through one right now, but nobody needs to be reminded of it.

It physically pains me to see my use of the word literally or legit or whatever else I thought was cool at the time. And don't even get me started on the acronyms - I literally cannot handle it.

5. It will make you reconsider everything.

Throwback to posting passive aggressive comments on middle school drama on your best friend's wall and thinking you were so witty and clever for it - only to go back and realize you were being blatantly obvious without intending to the whole time. I finally understand why my secrets always got out and I am frankly astonished that nobody had the decency to tell me how oblivious I was being.

But, as terrible as social media can be, one of its most salient aspects is that it allows someone - no matter how young or weird or embarrassing - to put into the world some small part of themselves. And yes, that can make us question everything about ourselves when we look back on it, but it can also be kind of great.

We're changing so quickly in college that it can be terrifying. What keeps me up at night (apart from my CS assignment) is the thought that someday we will be 60 or 70 or 80 and we won't be able to imagine waking up with an 18-year-old heart. And to know that there will always remain, in some corner of the internet, a nugget of who I was comforts me - even if that corner of the internet is full of acronyms better left in 2008.

So here are the 5 reasons to brave the archives of your Facebook adventures:

1. Going back to those birthday posts, even with their mortifying declarations of love for a friend, can remind you of everything your friendship has been through - and how it's changed over the years.

Even if not all your friendships have survived, it is nice to acknowledge the place in your life that these people once held, and how much they changed you. It may be a little bitter sweet, but it also has the potential to be hilarious.

2. There's something deeply moving about the fact that your family and friends continued to love you even after you sent them a million Farmville requests.

3. No matter how bad you used to be - at least you're not that person anymore!

The fact that we can laugh at who we used to be means that we've changed much more than we realized and that's kind of amazing.

4. Also I'm always afraid that I peaked in high school and it helps to know I was legitimately hitting rock bottom when I was posting those things - which means there's only one way to go, and that's up.

5. Plus, whatever you posted, rest assured, you probably know a friend who posted something worse. Relish in that - and then remind them of it.