In Real Life

I was having a discussion with a friend last week, and we were chatting about bloggy or online friends vs IRL friends.

This is a hard concept for me to grasp. Or I guess a better way of putting it is I have a hard time distinguishing between the two.

Now, you’re saying, um, duh. Right? Well stick with me here, and I’ll attempt to explain it.

I love surrounding myself with friends. And while it’s true that there are only a select few that get to really get to know me, I still love talking to people and getting to know people.

A little over two years ago on MySpace, I was going through the list of people I went to high school with. I came across this girl that I was friends with in elementary school and the beginning of Junior High School. (Yes, I went to Jr. High, not Middle School.) I always was very fond of this girl and always hated that we just sort of drifted apart.

So, after some debating on whether to contact her, I sent her a message titled, “Remember Me?” I was surprised, but thrilled when she responded right away! And we’ve been friends again ever since. She is THE BEST.

And she lives four hours away from me.

We talk almost every single day. Mostly online or through text messages. (Jess, I KNEW you’d give in to texting! ;o) If it weren’t for being online, we would have never found each other again. But she is my friend in real life in every single way.

These days, being online is such a big part of our real lives that becoming friends with someone is no different than being friends with someone “in real life”. Or at least to me.

So whether we’ve met in person or we haven’t. Whether we talk everyday on the phone, in person, or online. If you’ve given me the gift of friendship, I consider you my friend. Period.

And if we've never met face to face, I know we will someday. :o)

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10 comments:

Laura Marchant said...

I completely agree with this post :-)

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, this is so, SO true!

Bacardi Mama said...

Perfect post. I totally agree!

Anonymous said...

You called me your friend... awwww! I feel so loved. And I completely agree. Like I mentioned in that conversation we had... I feel closer to YOU ONLINE PEOPLE than I do to those friends who live 20 minutes from me. I cherish you... all of you!

*Lissa* said...

Ditto, hooker.

Brooke said...

amen!

i didn't meet my husband "in real life" that doesn't change the realness of our relationship!

enjoy yourself this weekend!!

Anonymous said...

I am glad you mentioned this! Roxymommy is totally one of those "RL" people. Even though we did know each other in "RL" about 10 years ago. I feel like I know about many of the girls through Shrinking Jeans through blogging, though I haven't spoken to anyone in person.

Tiffany S said...

Yeah, my husband doesn't get it either. We are going to Seattle this weekend, and I have a bloggy friend that lives there. I mentioned that I should try to see her, and he's like, "Now who is this person? How do you know her?" When I explained, he looked at me like I was nuts. "So, you don't really know her?" Well, of COURSE I know her! I read her Twitters and blogs almost every day, and we talk online - how is that not a friendship?

InWeighOverMyHead said...

I love my on-line friends too. :)

- Lisa
http://losewithlisa.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

This is a great post. And so true. My situation is a little different from the norm. I live overseas, in a country where I only partially speak the language, so my IRL friends are few and far between. There are only a few women I know here to chat with, and only one I would consider a good enough friend with whom to share the details of my life.

My husband doesn't get it when I talk of online friends. And he doesn't understand why I'm desperately trying to bargain with him for a chance to go to Blogher next year!

Guaranteed, I share more with my online friends than with the acquaintances I have in real life!

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I'm a walking contradiction. While I love to draw, paint and read, I also love all things gadgets, science and even science fiction (I know). My animals (two dogs and two birds) are my heart, and if I could figure out how to legally own a giraffe, I would. That all said, I have my BS in Mathematics. :o)

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