A few days ago, I was in line at the check out, waiting my turn to unload my cart, when my eyes wandered over the many, many tabloids and what passes for investigative magazines. Incredibly, I had not heard of most of the people that grace the glossy covers. Ok, maybe not incredibly since I am a hostage to the Cartoon Network.
If it’s not animated, I don’t know about it.
But I had to stop and stare to read one magazine cover, twice.
This made me a bit sad. I remember when we first moved to the US, being a new kid in school, and how every kid in my class came up to me to greet me, be it with “Hey, you’re new here?” or “My name is Amy and you can be my friend” or a few kids saying “Watch this!” It wasn’t hard to meet new kids. As I grew older it was more subtle, but it was still relatively easy to meet people. College made an art of it, what with “mixers” and frat parties and ice cream runs.
But I don’t remember having to read about how to make friends. Yes, I recall a book along those lines. But my issue here is how disconnected we have become from the physical and how connected we are in the technological. I admit to having plenty of online friends, met through the magic of the internet. And I am grateful for each and every one of them. But it’s a sad state when someone feels the need to publish a guide on social interactions that we should still remember from Kindergarten.
Always remember: it matters not how awkward or how smooth the path is to making a new friend. What matters is getting there 🙂
