Social media is a strange thing, isn’t it? It keeps us connected even when we fall out of touch. We no longer text and we certainly don’t talk, yet we still follow each other on Instagram/Twitter/Snapchat/you-name-it. Neither of us has to ask what the other is up to because we have seen each other’s posts, tweets, and stories. Our curiosity is satisfied without having to put in any effort.
Friendships fade, but the internet makes everything permanent. Timehop and Facebook memories remind us of what used to be as if they serve as cyber postcards. Here’s when we all went to the dance together. Remember how awkward that was? Here’s when we got ice cream. Here’s a funny video you tagged me in six years ago. Here we are two years ago on graduation day.
Where are we now? We’re all in different places. One of my old friends moved to Poland, another goes to school in Boston, and another spends most of his free time in the outdoors just as he did when we were kids. I have run into them a few times, but we don’t rekindle anything. We make small talk, promising to make time to catch up sometime with neither of us making any effort to do so. It’s easier to see what we’re doing on social media without ever picking up the phone. Perhaps it’s better that way, too.
To all my old friends, I hope you’re doing well. When I stumble across your endeavors on my feed, I’m happy for you. It fills me with a nostalgia for old times, but I think we all know better than to do anything but continue scrolling. Congratulations, condolences, etc. Thank you for being my friend when you were and playing an important role in who I would become. I’m sorry our friendships didn’t work out, but I’m genuinely happy to see you’re out there being awesome. I can’t say I’m surprised.
I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I miss some of my old friends. There are plenty I'd call in a heartbeat and ask them how they are, but I know we've been silent for too long. It could and probably would be weird. I know that I am not the easiest person to contact, either. All of us are adults now, equipped with busy schedules, different schools, and other friends. We're different people now under completely different circumstances. Life goes on.
Here’s to any and all old friends. Here's to current friends, too - thank you for spending time with me, challenging me, and making me laugh.
