An Open Letter to My Facebook Friends

To my Facebook friends:

I think one positive thing about social media is that it gets you so involved in the life of someone else. So even if I don’t know you really beyond a couple of words and maybe a wave, I know you. I see your posts on my timeline. I see your beautiful profile picture updates, your blogs about your lives, your struggles, and your victories, all through this social media platform. It’s interesting how you can feel like you know someone when you only see a small fraction of their lives. But even so, I want to become closer to more of you.

This is a statement that will hold true forever: I am here if any of you ever need me. If you just want to talk, if you’re feeling lonely, if you want to make new friends – any time. If you’re on campus and you want to have a meal with someone, message me. I’d love to hear more of your stories, more of your lives, more of your struggles, because I feel as though maybe we could relate to each other.

I know you’re an amazing person. I know that, no matter who you are, you’re beautiful. I know you deserve happiness in your life. I know you should be smiling all the time like you do in your Facebook posts. I know that who you are is not who you portray in your Facebook posts. But that doesn’t matter.

I know that sometimes, when we go on Facebook, we see each others’ posts and we immediately begin comparing. That person looks happier than me. That person has more friends. That person has a happier relationship. That person has more likes and comments than me. We fall into this cycle of thinking everyone else has a better life than we do, and we forget that most of the time, what we see on Facebook does not reflect what truly happens. (Though I’m sure that you’re even better in real life than your Facebook posts, you’re probably also more real.)

Whenever this happens, whenever you feel down, just remember you are intelligent, you are funny, and you are cared for. Message me if you ever need a friend or a helping hand. I know that I could use one too.

And please, feel free to let your Facebook friends know the same thing. We should all stand together. That’s when we’re strongest.