Day 22: Friends in far away places
Sometimes I like to think I have so many friends that live in far away places. They're doing exciting things, exploring different places, having amazing experiences...
But of course I only know this because I see their Facebook photos.
I find it funny the way I refer to these people as a loose definition of a "friend" when they're merely a Facebook connection now. Sometimes I'll comment on their big life statuses, or like their really nice profile photo. But for some people, I don't respond to any of their general Facebook posts. I wouldn't have talked to them - genuinely talked - in years.
I used to think maybe I don't talk to these people anymore because I have nothing left in common with them. We don't share anything similar in our daily lives. Plus what are the chances they would have time to talk to me anyway?
That last thought was the wrong assumption.
My friend and ex-workmate who is currently travelling wild somewhere in Asia reminded me of this. Recently, I messaged him a bit out of the blue, sharing a mindless thought I had that I felt he'd at least relate to. I expected a half-response back, saying something vague and brief like 'that's funny haha.' But it was nice to see he wrote back with quite a worthy piece of conversation.
"Honestly, it's nice to hear I am still thought about," he wrote in his message. "It's so easy to be forgotten, but I am still alive."
If there's anything to take from that sentence, is that being forgotten by the people you care about is one of the saddest feelings to experience. I saw it happen to the people I loved [day 21] and the people I thought I was fighting hard to stay friends with [this post].
But while those people I felt forgotten by were in my daily life, this doesn't mean that my friends across the water are the same.
I realised that even if you're across the world from people, it doesn't automatically mean you're allowed to lose your connection with them. Don't blame time zones or daily life struggles. The digital world is supposed to make it easy, and in fact, I found that if I craved conversation from familiar faces I used to see, I'm sure they would too.
It's one thing to think of someone, it's another to tell them that they're being thought of. And I aim to be that person to say so, no matter the distance.
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For the month of January 2016, I'm writing 31 personal stories about things in my life I'm thankful for. See all my posts during my month of thankfulness here.
