Have you ever wondered what it would be like meeting someone you have only heard and seen through a television or computer screen and headset? I am not talking about a catfish scenario, I am talking about verifying this person is really who they claim to be by Skyping them multiple times, checking social media accounts, etc. I am also not talking about Tinder, but forming extremely close friendships with people over video games and then finally getting the opportunity to meet them "in real life." My number of "real life" encounters is slowly climbing and meeting these friends who I have known for as long as nine years has shown me how great the power of friendship is.
The very first person I met from my PlayStation 3 Friends List was born and raised in Scotland and by chance had a foreign exchange program in the United States while I was a senior in high school. He was able to tour around the country before going back home and wound up coming to Maryland, taking a train from D.C. to my hometown and spent the day eating mango ice cream and mini golfing with me.
Another encounter was at a gas station for a 30 minute meet-up. It was a rushed experience because he was traveling back from New York at the time, but he was able to stop at the closest highway exit to my house and say hello for the first time face-to-face.
One experience was a few hours spent at the beach while on vacation with my best friend's family and he joined us for some fun in the sun.
One of my best friends who knows just about everything I have done over the last nine years I met over my PlayStation 3 and now we actually live across the street from each other at college. We met when I was 12 and he was 13 playing good ol' "Call of Duty" and we have been friends ever since. We first met each other in-person after I drove seven hours from Maryland to Ohio the day after my 18th birthday to spend a few nights at his parents home. We hung out two more times the following two years after that before I moved into the dorm across the street from him. We eat lunch twice a week together and he is still one of my closest friends I have ever had.
The most recent PlayStation friend I met is another extremely long friendship upwards of six years. He is also one of my closest friends who has seen and heard just about everything that I am feeling, thinking, or want to talk about. When he and I are both at school we are only four hours apart so my roommate and I hopped into her car, cranked out the drive and had a great weekend finally meeting each other in-person. We plan to hang out again this summer or in the fall when we start our fall semesters.
Meeting these guys "in real life" has been extraordinary because it isn't weird when you finally get to hang out with them face-to-face. You still have conversations with each other just like you do over a microphone that feel completely normal. I am still Sara when I meet them and they are still whoever they are, we just can finally see one another.The weirdest part is seeing physical features that are difficult to see over a camera, like height or the details in their face because even with knowing what they look like it's interesting to see the differences from a screen.
Various people who have found out I meet many of my closest friends from gaming cringe at the idea, but this is the world we live in now. If you're smart about introducing yourself and making sure the person you want to meet is really who they are, and not a serial murderer, you will be fine. I can't imagine not meeting the people from my friend's list because they are some of the very best friends I have had for years.
I just can't wait to see who I get to meet "in real life" next.
