Up until I started college, I was never someone who was surrounded by a large group of friends. I kept maybe one or two close companions in my social circle at a time. But other than that, I generally had trouble finding people who enjoyed my presence. When I discovered that it's possible to make friends over the internet around 2012, my whole world changed.
Suddenly, I had an infinite number of people behind a screen who were willing to talk to me, despite being hundreds or sometimes thousands of miles away. I began finding friends from all over the country who genuinely liked me and I haven't felt loneliness since. There's always been a loved one just a text message away.
Obviously distance is a constant stressor on long-distance relationships (platonic or otherwise). But what happens when that distance is eradicated for a week? Well, I had the pleasure of finding out this summer. I was able to take my best friend, Emily, whom I met at a convention back in 2013 and who has been my best friend solely through the internet ever since, to the Jersey Shore with me for a week before she flies off to start college in Austin, Texas.
My maternal family was born and raised in Cape May, N.J., and that's where I spent all of my childhood summers. My connection to the little Victorian town runs very deeply and very personally. It's always an honor to take meaningful people with me whenever I get the chance to visit. This trip seemed like a divine gift. It was the opportunity to spend a week, the longest time we've ever spent together, with my best friend in my favorite place in the world. In only a few short weeks, she leaves the East Coast for the Southwest until the winter.
I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting from a week-long getaway to the Jersey shore with the person I've loved most for the past three years of my life, but there's no way I could have predicted just how much fun it would turn out to be.
Maybe I assumed our senses of digital humor wouldn't translate well enough through face-to-face interactions, but I was wrong. I can't remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did this week. I don't think I'll be triumphing it any time soon. We kept a running list of all the jokes we made over the course of the vacation and I can say with confidence that she is, without a doubt, the funniest person I know.
The quick wit and charm she carries in our textual conversations converts seamlessly into the interpersonal. The list we kept is something I look forward to cherishing for the rest of our friendship. Comedy has always been a crucially integral part of our relationship. I'm heartened by the fact that our being together is something which strengthens that element.
Maybe I assumed we'd get tired of one another or not get along as well in person as we do online, but I was wrong, again. Sharing personal space with her reminded me of why we get along so well together from a distance: we're just similar people. We have similar concepts of personal space and social energy. We have similar interests and ideas when it comes to spending free time.
Spending a week by her side was astonishingly simple -- something I, as an introverted person, wasn't expecting. But it was stressless and enjoyable. I never imagined I'd have the capacity to share so much of my free time and personal space with another person. But I suppose I never imagined I'd get the chance to share it with someone so close to me.
Emily has watched me grow up. She has seen me at my best and at my worst. She has been emotionally available to me almost every day for the past three years and has ensured me that I'm never really alone. She is my best friend and one of my truest loves. This vacation has metaphorically silenced everyone in my life who has ever questioned my ability to maintain meaningful, long-lasting relationships with people who I don't have the ability to see regularly.
This week I learned what happens when I'm given the opportunity to spend a full week with someone I've seen only once a year for the past three years. What happens is validation of those past three years in a beautiful culmination of stupid jokes, artsy pictures and unforgettable memories.
Long-distance, internet-based friendships/relationships are both fulfilling and significant. They provide comfort, affection and support to people who sometimes struggle to find it in their local communities. I know not everyone with internet friends is as lucky as I am, to have had the opportunity to spend a week together with someone who lives very far away from them. But I'm extremely grateful to have experienced such an uplifting and encouraging time with someone who has provided me with friendship and trust when I needed it most.
How anyone can believe these types of relationships are invalid just because of the distance is questionable to me. I've had the happiest week of my summer with someone who is leaving the east coast very soon but with whom I fully intend to continue communicating via the internet.
