"True friends stay when all else go away. You're a true friend... let me be one to you too. :)", Stuart commented at my blog.
Yes, after having started blogging since a year ago I have gained a number of online friends and have learned many things along the way. They bring both joy and sorrow into my life. Some are transient but some are lasting friendship.
However, I have never met any of my online friends in person before though many are eager to meet me. Why didn't I go? I can't explain... or rather, people won't understand even if I try to explain. Some might think I have something to 'hide' or that I feel inferior to my physical look, etc. No, those are not the reasons at all. On the contrary, I am more myself online than offline. In term of my physical look, I'm afraid you might fall in love with me easily after meeting me offline (for guys of course). But you won't get to KNOW me much if you have met me offline first as I am a very private person, an introvert outside the scope of work...
I have become very attached to my computer because most of my activities happened online... be they interaction with online friends, knowledge acquisition, or blogging my thoughts and reflections. The recent problem with my computer key has made me wonder will life stop for me if there were no more computer. Well, life will be different without the computer (just like when I was away the last 9 days). I really missed my online friends and all the things I could do online during those time.
What would I do if there were no more computer? I would probably do more reading of the newspaper, magazines, non-fiction books; play and sing with my guitar; tend to my plants; watch TV programs; chat with friends on the phone; play board games; swimming, jogging, cycling, shopping; experiment with cooking, sewing, decorating my home; writing, studying, and more outside of work.
Hmmn... don't the above activities sound healthier? I guess they do... but you will only get to know one aspect of me (i.e. I am a very active person with many varied interests) and perhaps also confirm that you could fall in love with my physical look easily. But you will never get to know the inner me (i.e. my thoughts, my aspirations, my joy and sorrows) which is vital to any lasting relationship. Online blogging and online friendship gives me a chance to express my inner self, to rediscover myself and talents, and to learn new things.
So do you rather know me online or offline? "Both", you might say. Well, I am not ready for it now... i.e. you either know the offline me (more impersonal and superficial) or the online me (more personal and real). But ultimately the right person will get to know, me both online and offline, when I feel comfortable. I am not sure who will that person be or when it will happen... only God knows, and in His time I guess.
I saw the following quotation on a T-Shirt yesterday and find it very appropriate in describing my online friends...
A best friend is like a computer:
I ENTER your life,
SAVE you in my heart,
FORMAT your problems,
but never DELETE you
from my MEMORY.
Labels: about me, friendship