Being on MySpace and Facebook has started me thinking about old friends the last few days. How do you and should you try to reconnect with those friends that you made in high school and beyond? Do you try to make amends for things that you did that may have hurt someone or do you just let it go forever? Do you try to connect with someone that hurt you back in your younger days?
I have reconnected with a couple of people that I hung out with in high school, others I have friend requested and not heard from ever again. I am enjoying getting to know people on a whole new level, without all the BS that was school, jealously and the rest of the garbage that we all put up with in our teenage years. I am the first to admit that I did things back then that I’m not proud of and I hurt people that didn’t deserve it at all, honestly, haven’t we all? Your first case of puppy love, your first true love, your best friend in high school, those are the ones that I’m talking about connecting with all over again. Should you let it upset you if they choose not to be “friends” online or should they at least take the time to see what kind of person you have actually turned into since you last spoke?
My very best friend from high school is online, she is friends with a couple of people that I’m friends with online and still I’m afraid to send a friend request. Rejection hurts even online, real or imagined. I don’t expect to be best friends ever again with those that I was close to when I was a teenager, I don’t want to go back there, but to catch up and to talk about those memories that weren’t all bad would be nice. I love my life now but sometimes it would be nice to remember the things we used to do and be amazed that we are still here to talk about them.
I am amazed at the things I have in common with some of the friends I have reconnected with in the last couple of years. There are things that I never in a million years thought that they would like doing that I enjoy too. The experiences are similar in our lives too. I envy those that can go thru life and not lose their best friends, those that can move past the stupid things we do in our younger years.
I guess my biggest question is, how can you, if you can, make up for things that you did? Can you really do anything to erase the pain that you caused?
I don’t think you can really make up for things you did in high school. I believe that at my age (45 – errrrr 46 in a few weeks) what happened let’s see…1982….29 years ago has faded away and the small hurts cannot be recalled. Now if someone had something really dramatic happen to them at the hands of a classmate in high school, that might never go away and in fact shape the life of such an individual. As long as you didin’t pull a ‘Carrie’ on someone I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to contact them. I only recall embarrassing moments and since I was the once embarrassed, I don’t think anyone else would remember. When I tell my kids that kids they know in high school will be but a blip on the map in 10 – 15 years they don’t really believe me. So I say…how many of my friends from high school do I keep up with? The answer is 5..out of a class of almost 400. Pretty lame.
I love the idea of a blog! Good for you. I’m more a commenter than an instigator.