I grew up in a world without the internet and I first got online in my 2nd year of college. I was a huge geek and didn't have too many real life friends who shared my interests. But all of a sudden I could speak to people all over the world who had similar interests.
It's been 24 years since I first dove headfirst into the internet and things have changed a lot. But some of my best and most enduring friendships are ones I've made online. I'm still friends with a few people from my early days online.
But my main friend group came about because we had a love for a specific perfume. A friend of mine gave me a sample of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab at the Michigan Ren Faire in 2004. I loved it and I've never been a perfume person before. But these were (and are) magical. When I looked them up on the internet, I found that they had a forum which I joined.
I don't post on the forum as much as I used to, but I try to check it every few days. There are also several groups on Facebook and one is where I spend a lot of my online time. We talk about everything and the friend we lost told the best stories.
Even though I never met her in person, I loved her. She was my friend and I miss her so much. I love my other friends too. Some I've met in person, some live on the other side of the world, but thanks to the internet we can talk and connect.
So chat with your friends, enjoy their virtual company because you will be sad when they are gone.
