I’ve always been an outgoing introvert. I know, oxymoron yet, that has always been me. I love going out and at the same time, I don’t like socializing with people I don’t know. If I attend a club for dancing purposes, I find a seat and chair-dance the night away. However, none of my friends are allowed to leave their purses with me, so they can hit the dance floor. I’m not THAT friend. You know, the watching-all-purses friend. No way! At a comedy club or a concert, I let loose and enjoy the performers. As I got older, my friends started having babies, moving in with their boyfriends or getting married. I, on the other hand, didn’t do either. I never had a child, refused to live with a man I wasn’t married to and never married. Well, haven’t married – don’t know what the future holds. Anyway, with the babies and significant others being important, time-consuming additions to my friends’ lives, their social life activities switched to outings for parents and couples. I became bored. Not lonely, yet, but bored. I had to stay at home more with nothing to do. This wasn’t a feeling or situation in which I wanted to stay. I had to meet new friends that were single or at least had teenage children. Where was MY boyfriend during all these transitions? I was with the same man for a few years. He cheated on me, chose the sidepiece and they married in hopes of living happily-ever-after. It happens! So until I met a new one, I enjoyed the single life and let the baggage of Mr. Married, go. I was still bored, though.
Before MySpace.com, Facebook.com and Twitter.com, there was ____________. Sorry, the social media site escapes me. I joined the site in hopes to reconnect with old friends and boy did I! One friend stuck out the most. I originally met her in high school and although our time was short-lived, we became close enough for me to call her Friend. Through her, I reunited with another friend from middle school. Fast forward some eight years later, I affectionately call these darlings, The Tweedles. Then came Facebook.com. Oh my goodness! With Facebook.com, I reconnected with more old friends whose children were older, spouses were null or boyfriends were different. YAY! More single or available people to share fun times. More people for me to go out with and not be by myself. Another social media milestone for my social life, Facebook.com added events and event pages. Oh goodness. Now I know about things happening in my wonderful city whereas the information before was limited. Oh not on Facebook.com. Very little is limited on Facebook.com This gave me options for leaving my humble abode. And with more re-connections added, if The Tweedles didn’t want to join me, I had SOMEONE that would.
Well, fast forward again to 2017. I still love and enjoy The Tweedles. They are my faves. We have SO MUCH fun together with nothing but laughter under our belts. All the re-connections are still blossoming and now, my old friends’ children are in college or high school to where I can drag them to one of the events I learned about on Facebook.com. With all these social life options, I have to sit back and say, “Thank you, Social Media. You saved my social life and got me out of the house! I owe you my smiles and pictures forever.”
I have a friend that would constantly post on Instagram about his “solo missions.” I thought, “What a nice idea. I could never!” Well, with all these re-connections, the un-wanting happened. July 2016, none of my friends were available to share my birthday day with me. Some were available for the night only. I refused to stay home on MY day.
As I moped about the week prior, I went to Instagram one day. The first post I saw was Mr. Solo Mission’s picture at a restaurant, by himself, with the hashtag “SoloMission.” It hit me! “My birthday will be my first solo mission.” I logged off Instagram, logged onto the internet and booked my travel plans to Catalina Island for the day. Again, Social Media saved the day!
I firmly believe Social Media is what you make it. If you add or participate in drama, you’ll have a dramatic experience. If you add or participate in controversy, you’ll have a controversial experience. If you add or participate in any way bad, you’ll have a bad experience. I have had no real problems on social media because I chose not to participate in too much. I connect. I laugh. I share very little personal information. I look for outings with my friends. I socialize through social media, as should you. I’ll write another blog about what I think are the “Do’s and Don’ts for Social Media.” MWAH!
Writing Waves 