To my online friends, the people I know and love but have never met in person. Thank you.

You are the people who are there with a type of the keyboard and a skype call away. I love you guys. I thank you for the advice you have given me and the countless hours you’ve spent making me smile as I try to do the same for you.

The relationship behind each and one of my friendships is absolutely real. It is as real as texting your best friend who you’ve gone to school with, but you never seem to meet them for lunch in the cafeteria.

There is one of my friends, my best friend. She is going through her freshman year of college alongside me 4 hours away from me; we message each other and to keep each other going through one of the largest transitions of our lives. We’ve known each other since we were 13. I’ve never met her, but I can call her my sister. I’d drive across the country to help her.

Your life cannot be sustained on online friends alone, but some of these friends are ones that last a life time. My online friends are people who understand me, my interests. They make me feel like I’m not alone in the world.

They’ve called from wherever they are and talked me out of the worst times in my life. They’ve given me their wisdom and strength to carry on.

To anyone who says that online friends aren’t real, I must say; this is how it is. We are now a connected society that can talk to people and create bonds across the world from the comfort of your own home. There are fan communities for the smallest of things and they can build the strongest of bonds, it makes the world seem much larger than your backyard.

I’ve got some virtual hugs to send to some important people.

Who can you send your virtual hugs to?