Kat vs internet friends

I think we all know this situation - you sign up on a social media platform and someone messages you. That person seems nice and you start chatting with them. Over time, you two eventually become friends. What a nice little story.

I've met a lot of people on the internet. Really a lot. I've had my times where I've been on Twitter nonstop, not caring about the offline world at all. I didn't really have offline friends living close to me anyway, so I spent most of my time online where I met nice people I considered to be my friends.

But after some time interests changed, I got together with my boyfriend and I basically left most of my internet friends behind. For almost two years.

The reason for me now thinking about this topic again basically is that some of those people messaged me again lately. The very few that I can consider to be my real friends, even though I never met some of them in person.

A few years back, I was in contact with a lot of weird people. Some of them were only talking to me because I had fun doing their maths homework, and one was only talking to me because no one wanted to talk to him since everybody thought he'd be a pedophile, as I later discovered. I still don't know if that's true, but I started being more careful with chosing people to talk to. Only one of the reasons why I decided to go offline for a longer period of time.

The surprising thing to me is that I never thought that any of them, no matter how close we were back then, would remember me, apart from one. She was the first one I ever met online, the only one I met in person and also the one I tried to keep in touch with for the longest time. And I consider her to be one of my best friends ever since.

However, I didn't really expect the others to even remember me at all after such a long time. But - and I really don't know why - I keep receiving messages lately. Messages from people of whom I thought they had forgotten about me completely.

It's a weird feeling and I don't really know how to describe it, but I'm really thankful and happy that I'm somehow still in peoples' minds.

The internet is really weird, but people are way weirder. Some of them never really care, some just want to harm and some are the most lovable beings you'll ever meet in your whole life. Sometimes those best friends you've allways been waiting for live on the opposit side of the earth. It's weird and wonderful at the same time.

This probably is just a massive thank you to the ones who haven't forgotten me, but it might also be a reminder for those who haven't talked to their old pals in a long long time. Having friends is one of the most wonderful things that can happen to us, and we all should appreciate those who are there for us in our hardest but also happiest times. Friends are the family you can choose.~