So, I went to my high school reunion last weekend. It was just what I expected. I cannot believe I was the least bit insecure over that one particular person. It was not an issue in the least. I will not be attending anymore reunions.
What struck me as so sad about this reunion is just how false social networking has made friendships. If you go to my Facebook page you will see I have around 275 "friends". I realized after being face-to-face with some of them last weekend is that "friend" is just not the right term for many on that list. The reality was that when suddenly facing each other, it was awkward. We only know each other for the extend we post to that site. And, for some, the exchange in person was so brief it was almost embarrassing to have been excited to see that person because it seemed we had a genuine friendship. I realized that computer keys just cannot replace personal interaction, be it face-to-face or by phone (maybe by email, but even that can be so one-sided these days). I won't be dropping Facebook as I do genuinely enjoy keeping up with a few folks that way, but I certainly will not be putting much energy into any relationships that exist solely on that site. I will instead, be sure that I am making efforts towards real friendships.
A few notes from the whole reunion experience: It was too expensive. Clicks from high school remain twenty years later. The sweet girls are still sweet. The party-ers are still party-ers. Some person brought her mom....in a hover craft. Some folks look exactly the same. For others, time has not been as kind. It was fun to see some old friends. It was fun to see who they married. I acted like I knew a few folks while I had no clue who they were. It was all I could do not to do "rabbit ears" behind that particular person during the big class photo. I was shocked to see people still smoking. With the exception of a couple, I will not see those people again in my life. We left without saying "good-bye" to anyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment