April 30th, 2026: 9:03 AM
Yesterday I had a heartwarming conversation with a few of my friends/best friends which made me feel super warm and fuzzy. This brought to my mind a couple pressing thoughts I wanted to talk about regarding long distance/online friendships. Growing up with the commencement of usage of social media, specifically as I was of pre teen age as well as a teenager, online friendships were a big thing that was frowned upon by adults.
Although I would have friends IRL in school, I also had many online friends growing up. Each friendship helping me grow as a person throughout the years. A ton of fun memories! In fact, I felt my online friends helped me get out of my shell more than my IRL friends did.
Perhaps it’s because I wanted to fit in
Or felt I could never keep up with the societal social expectations kids unintentionally project onto each other. Either way, I’ve never had friends in close proximity who I felt completely safe with to be myself.
All of my best friends are long distance, spread out throughout the world. In all honesty, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Although at times I wish they were closer to where I live, I am also reminded of how beautiful it is to know that despite the distance between us, our paths still happened to cross.
I appreciate the growing normalization and acceptance of long distance friendships these days
When I was younger, it was quite taboo to even mention online friendships (for internet safety reasons which I completely understand) however, this is not always the case and I learned throughout the years to tread lightly in interactions online. Of course, there are terrible humans online but this is also true for IRL too.
I am a firm believer in having good people around you.
Genuine, kindhearted humans. People who uplift you and embrace who you are. Truth be told, I thought I would never be able to find my people but I have. They came into my life when I least expected it and I am so eternally grateful for them. They are truly my platonic soulmates and have healed so many parts of me.
Friendship in its entirety is beautiful, but true friendship is divine.
To all my best friends and close friends, I love you :((( Here’s a poem I wrote in honor of all of you <3 -CL
Friends
I used to watch the other kids play down the hill
I sat on top of a big, green one, where the willow tree always held me still
I’d play with the small pieces of grass as the wind whistled my name
Sometimes I’d imagine those kids would ask me to play a game
I would hope and hope, but it all remained the same
Eventually I grew tired, weary at the thought of optimism for a friend
To understand and accept me for who I am
After hundreds of tears, disloyalty again and again
Was there something wrong with me? What was I not doing right?
At some point I kept looking down, accepting no friends in sight
I used to watch the other kids play down the hill
Until I met the people who sat next to me