Friendships: Offline on the Mind

Hashing out all my Debbie Downer-ism last night made me realize how much my personal relationships mean to me.  It made me realize the flipside of the alienation of the internet and social media (for me, at least) is that it makes me appreciate the people I am able to spend my time with… in person.

One of my college professors used to constantly tell us how much more value a handwritten letter held in comparison to an email (like “1 letter is worth 500 emails,” or something).  Thinking this is sort of along the same lines.

In college, friends were so easy to make and it seemed like everyone was open to hanging out, getting to know other people better;  I know now that I truly took that for granted.  I loved being able to pass hours any idle afternoon walking around Downtown [Santa Cruz].  Now as anyone who has been to Santa Cruz can tell you, Downtown is not large; but strangely enough, I never got tired of walking past the same windows and homeless guys day after day.  Moreover, it was rare to walk into the Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company (“CoRoCo”) or Borders without stumbling into someone from school.  It was fantastic.  Before you knew it, strangers became friends and there we were, all together chillin’, watching bad TV, or grabbin’ a bite at the local hole-in-the-wall.

Now, it’s truly rare when that happens… especially without putting effort into its fruition.  I guess that’s one thing I definitely miss about college and Santa Cruz.  And now that I communicate with these people primarily online (if at all), I really miss our time together, even if it was just doing laundry or watching infomercials all night.  You never know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone, yea?

Without a doubt, technology brings convenience into our lives and helps us communicate like never before; but there are somethings that can never be digitalized: a friendly hug, a hearty laugh, a beaming smile, a lover’s gaze.

My other half could call me every hour and text me every 10 minutes when I am away at work, but it still doesn’t calm the urge I feel to hug him and physically be around him.  I can text my gf and we can plan phone dates that last for hours, but it still doesn’t compare to having her in the same room with me when we talk.

Maybe I’m just needy, but sometimes LOL, LMAO, and :) just don’t cut it.