"Internet friends aren't real."
"Don't trust anyone you meet on the internet."
"You don't really know them."
If you ever say these things to me, I won't reply. Simply because all of those statements are 100% false. People have said these things to me a multitude of times, but what they didn't say is that people I've met over the Internet would be some of the best people I'd ever come across, because they are. I have several internet friends, all in which ive met over the course of two years on instagram, and here's my story.
Two years ago around July, I started watching the TV series "Once Upon A Time." I came across this show when I was going through a really hard time in my life. I was facing depression, and this show was said to be a show about hope, and that's exactly what it was. I decided to create an instagram account based off of this show, and it was the best decision I'd ever made. It's my best friend, Taylor there. Here's the catch; she's 2,148 miles away in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Taylor and I started talking on instagram about the show we both loved, and it evolved from there. Eventually I gave her my number, deciding it would be easier to text, and from then on things evolved. With FaceTime calls daily, texting non stop, and Skype calls, we became inseparable. We've been best friends for almost two years now, and we're finally meeting in a December in person, something we've been dying to do since the first time we talked.
I share this story because it is important to realize the importance of internet friends. It's not very often that you meet someone and click with them right off the bat, but when you meet someone on one of your social media sites, you automatically have something in common with that person, which helps engage in conversation. They're someone who understands you too, and I was lucky enough to find Taylor because we have a lot more in common than just a favorite tv show.
The only downside, is the distance.
You can't ask them to come over for a movie and hot chocolate. You can't go on random mall dates or shopping sprees. You can't drive to their house to bring them soup when they're sick. You can't be the shoulder they cry on when they've been hurt. It's hard, it is, but one day you'll break the distance, and it'll be like you've been together forever. I found a poem online that I absolutely love, and it goes as follows.
"A Friend Unseen"
"It's strange to have a friend that you've never hugged, lightly touched their arm or looked into their eyes. But you have touched their soul, felt their heart, and been embraced by the warmth of their being. A friend unseen is not a friend untouched. The eyes of the soul will gaze, the heart will embrace, the image will stand tall, but only in a dream."
I have been lucky enough to meet two of my internet friends, and to conclude this article I'd like to share those moments with you.
