In this digital world that we live in, it is inevitable to encounter people we have never met in the real life and interact with them on the social media. It can be either on their fanpage where they posted something that caught your attention οr maybe you both commented under a mutual friend’s photo. We make friends because we have read their blogs or because they are an influencer we have been following for a while. Admittedly, I have made friends on the blogging community who I consider as real friends, but today I’m going to dedicate these words to some unknown friends.
It has been almost a decade since I started writing online and I have been lucky enough to have met people who have been my friends since then. They are the people who will be the first ones to message me on my birthday, comment on my new profile photo and like my random posts on my social media. Although with most of them we haven’t even spoken on the phone, I really feel like they are there for me when I need them and I hope I am a sufficient friend for them too.
But there are also some other friends you can find on the Internet. Has it ever happened to you to read somebody’s comment and see that there is someone else out there who has the same feelings and thoughts as you? I have to admit that I have looked at a stranger’s profile on Facebook – either because I read a comment they left on a public page or they reacted to a comment I made somewhere- and discover that this person has so much in common with you.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a stalker (we can also talk about stalkers some other time). But I can’t ignore the fact that someone has the same concerns as me. And I’m talking about real issues, not just what hairstyle suits me. It’s about moral values, the way of thinking, the worries one has about life, about one’s children, about the world.
I rarely comment on public posts. I usually do it on pages that I feel safe (how I regret it when I comment somewhere and then I receive comments or messages by random people). And many times I read the comments section and don’t dare to participate there myself. The reason is that it isn’t always easy to open your heart and express your own feelings about a matter, either because it isn’t a subject I would like to discuss in public or because it triggers strong emotions.
And there it will be that person who will write what you have in mind, have the same opinion and isn’t afraid to state what they think. It is so comforting to realise that you aren’t alone. They may even have had the same experience with you on some issues.
Looking online for information about something that worries me or I am looking for tips on a specific problem and bam… here’s is the article you wrote and you answer my questions, like a song I listen on the radio and it describes the words in my mind, the beats of my heart.
My dear unknown friend,
I would like you to know that I am like you. I read your comments or your blog posts and they seem to me like they have been written by me. I can feel your struggles because they are mine too. I can sense your fear because I am scared too. I read your stories and they make me cry, not out of sorrow but out of relief that someone can feel what it feels like to be in my shoes.
I can hear your voice through your writing and it is like I have the company of a friend. You say the things I want to say but sometimes there is no one to whom I can trust and confess what I have in mind or you know sometimes you do not want to burden your weight on someone who loves you. And suddenly you are there to put me under your umbrella in the middle of the storm. The rain will touch me anyway, but like an angel you’ll put me under your wings and when I am alone again I will have received some of your strength and your wisdom.
I want to thank you because you inspire me, you give me strength, you are someone I admire.
Remeber that things will get better someday.
Take care my friend,
Your unknown friend