What happened to the people that we knew in elementary school?
Because of networking websites like Facebook, everyone's need to stalk other people, just the idea of dwelling in the past, and remembering the good times, we can now connect with people that we never thought that we'd see or hear from again. I have several examples of this.
It always helps to reconnect with the people that we knew, but in the end, you've both changed, and the last word is that you both knew each other once, but you all changed so much that it's almost impossible to connect with them and be good friends, unless you discard the past and start over.
I think that doing just that is rather difficult.
I see pictures of people that I used to know, and note how much they changed. The problem with facebook is that it gives everyone access to everyone's information--so it's easy to learn a lot about someone, but not know them. So I could be the most informed person on Facebook, but be a recluse and never talk to people (which isn't what I am, by the way).
I just find it hard to watch people that I used to know, the innocent and beautiful-without-makeup people cover themselves with mascara and foundation until all they are is another Barbie in the world of millions of Barbies, who all look blonde and the same. And it's even more difficult to watch the once playground-induced fun become drinking, drugs, and sexy "fun."
I have a hard time with that.
Facebook has it's perks. I can network myself, or things I want people to know about, and can tag people to get them to know what I'm up to. I can post pictures and my friends in Florida and California can look at the pictures and tell me what they think about my life. I can keep in contact with my cousins, and chat with friends that I met in Pennsylvania. I can wish Happy Birthday to people, even though I would inevitably not even know about their birthday otherwise. So I'm thankful for the notifications in that aspect.
At the same time, people can dance on the line of stalking others by looking through all the pictures that they are tagged in. (and I am by no means innocent of this). People can follow wall to walls of others who they suspect might start dating... (which I am not guilty of)
I think that Facebook is a great way to connect with people through the internet and there are so many great options that let us find our friends that we danced with a couple times at Mormon Prom our sophomore year in high school, or the kids that were in Sunday School with us when we were toddlers in Tulsa Oklahoma.
My favorite is when you find that guy that you had a crush on in middle school that you didn't even tell your friends about, and then you see what a nice (or loserhead) he has become.
One of the things that I am most thankful for on Facebook is within the Facebook chat, actually. You can separate your friends into catergories--and make lists of people that you know from one place or another--a tactic that can help you remember each person in case you forget. Which is completely wonderful. But something really useful-- if there's a person that you don't want to offend by removing their friendship (how obvious is that??) you can block them on online chat by making them into their own group, and then putting that individual group offline at all times. I've only done that a couple times. I don't like creepers.
I'm thankful for Facebook, for the ways I can connect with people, and hopefully make them laugh in their days, by making stupid comments on their photos, or random chats on Facebook chat. I love that I can keep in contact with my family and Zach's family through it, and have better connections through it.
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