Dear Social Media,

Thank you. Thank you for granting me the privilege of seeing the world through other’s eyes. Thank you for giving me hope when I am so far away from family and friends. Thank you for being my reminder when it’s someone’s birthday. And thank you for keeping me entertained when I am bored out of my mind.

With today’s advancements in technology, I find people often forget all the amazing things that can be achieved by social media and technology in general. We live in such a high paced society, we often forget how to take things easy and to remember to take things in.

With the help of social media platforms, I get to watch as the younger members of family across the country grow up. I get to see major life moments like weddings and birthdays, even graduation and proms, without hopping on a plane to Colorado or Michigan. So thank you.

Thank you for allowing me to rant about topics I care about. Thank you for being there to hear about new jobs, new apartments, new relationships, and everything else in between. Thank you for letting me share my support with people all over the state, country, and heck even the world.

All of this said, social media, you are not without your pitfalls. Like endless hours of addictive games, videos, and quizzes… yeah, I’m looking at you Candy Crush and Buzzfeed. The unfortunate increase in cyber bullying is also a situation that is much less than ideal, which thankfully is being tackled in new ways each day. We still have our challenges, and we are still diligently working to fix these issues.

But still most days I feel like all of that is worth it when I get to see so much happen so far away, without having to hop on a plane. With the help of social media, the miles don’t seem so unbearable between New Hampshire and Florida, or Rhode Island and Scotland. I can even live vicariously through my friends who travel and live abroad since I’m still passport-less.

It is so amazing that in a matter of seconds I can be face to face with my roommate from last year, because let’s face it the world would be bleak without my obnoxious Snapchats and updates on how our fish are doing now that they live with the person who forgot to feed them most days.

In a matter of seconds, I can see my Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Cousins, you name it. Holiday’s no longer spent totally split from one part of the family or another, thanks to FaceTime and Skype. Long day’s spent video chatting with friends and family and their respective pets, because who doesn’t want to see puppies and kittens?

We live in an incredible technological world, and I’m not just saying this because I’m a techie, I’m saying this because without social media my life would be kind of miserable away from home.

Love always,

Me.