Searching the Past Not as Pathetic as I Thought

When a long time college friend became insistent that I join Facebook, I was sort of shocked. Why would I give a crap - everyone I wanted to stay in touch with I did. Or, if I hadn't, I eventually sought them out. I'm definitely not going to put any personal information out into cyberland. Not my style. And then I thought, why the hell does he think I would even be the kind of person who wants to be on Facebook.

Well, it always pays to trust a friend, especially one of more than 25 years. It's not that I want everyone to know my business. That's still reserved for those I choose to share it with. But reconnecting to people that were part of your life for many years, maybe a deep part, maybe not, is more than I expected. Granted, I expected nothing. But, we all know that there are lots of people from our past that we hold only positive feelings for. Why not see how they are?

It's interesting to me how people feel about their status in other people's memory. We all go through it, and all start our messages the same way - "Don't know if you remember me but..." The reality is, unless you're some sort of crazed stalker, we all hold each other fairly equally in our collective minds. To think that someone you went to school with from 4th grade through graduation would not know who you are is kinda crazy. Do you think the friends that were part of the stories you tell your own kids over and over again don't remember you? They do. Just think of everyone you can recall from those years and the amount of detail you can put behind it. Got it? Well, they think the same of you. And when you're lucky enough to get a picture, and you can see the teenage kid in the face of a 46 year old, admit it, you feel like you still have a bit of youth on your side.

So have at it. Join up. And I heartily recommend going through your high school yearbook. Unless you really were a closet case, and those are extremely rare, there's at least a handful of people who will tell you with great honesty and passion that the 1980 version of you was awesome. Find those people and get in touch. you'll see that they still think you're pretty decent. Who doesn't need to hear that every once and a while?