The first time I messaged one of my best friends was four years ago, on the 6th of October 2014. We shared a mutual love of One Direction and although we ourselves were not mutuals, meaning we follow each other on social media, we both followed some of the same accounts. We were introduced to one another via a tweet from an account we both followed, under the hashtag findafriendwithel.
We have all been warned time and time again of the dangers of talking to strangers on the Internet. We have all received emails from foreign countries asking for money or have been told the horror stories of young girls meeting up with someone they met online, only for him to have catfished them and not be the young gentleman they were expecting. Despite all of these warnings, I could not help but pour my heart and soul out to this girl, telling her about my day, my sorrows and my wishes for the future.
Three months after we first started talking was my 18th Birthday and she asked if she could send me a present to help me celebrate. I was so excited when the parcel came, all the way from The Netherlands.
Following this, we had our very first Skype call which lasted for a couple of hours. It was so weird to finally put a face and voice to a username but I was relieved to find she was exactly how I had imagined her. Despite being Dutch, her English was as perfect as it was over messenger, although she definitely had a Dutch accent.
Almost four years later and we finally met for the first time this summer when I visited Amsterdam for the first time. I was nervous before the meeting itself, scared that the chemistry that we had online would not correspond to real life or that I would not like her, aware that we all only show our best personas online. But it was the perfect meeting and I had an amazing time. I hope we will meet again shortly.
Here’s to Internet Friends, the friends not limited by time or distance.
Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash
This is such a great story!! I love that you can get so many friends from all over the world just by going online. Quite amazing though.
Tuva,
tuvasworld.com
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Thank you for reading and commenting. I totally agree and it means you learn so much more about the world.
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This is so cute! I made a few online friends back in the day when I used to run a Harry Potter fan instagram account (Oh what good times) but I lost touch with all of them and we drifted apart. This is such a sweet story and I’m so glad you finally got to meet after all these years! ❤
https://scatteredstar.wordpress.com/
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Thank you. Haha I never would have pegged you for a Harry Potter fan girl! I used to have a 5 Seconds of Summer fan account and that is how I met the majority of my Internet Friends, Ymke included.
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Eeee this was such a lovely read, I actually made a lot of my internet friends through One Direction in 2010 (and the years following) and we’re still best friends to this day, it’s crazy to think we’ve been inseparable for 8 years all because of a band we saw on the TV that then brought us together from all over the world. We used to send each other letters and presents and everything, I still have them all and it’s so nice to look back on them now. I have really fond memories of that time. It’s crazy how things work xx
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Thank you. I met most of my Internet Friends through 5 Seconds of Summer so I know exactly how you feel! It’s so weird now because I no longer listen to their music as much or follow their every move like I used to but yet we have all remained friends. xx
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One of my best friends started as an internet friendship and since then we’ve been travelling together and I’m so grateful we started talking when we did (also 4 years ago I think!)
Alys
https://alysjournals.com
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Oh wow that is so cool! I would love to be able to travel the world with a friend. xx
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LOVE THIS, that’s so cute!! so glad you were finally able to meet in person, what a special friendship 💛
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Thank you Jamie!
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Lovely story! 😊 I have a few internet friends and I appreciate them a lot! It’s such a great way to meet people!
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Thank you. I 100% agree – it is so nice to be able to meet someone you perhaps would not have been able to otherwise and be united over a love of something, rather than just circumstances.
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Yeah exactly!!
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Internet friends are so amazing and need to be treasured just as much as close friends. It is so so lovely you both met and I am so happy you had a fab time! xx
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Thank you Chloe! I am so glad it was a really nice meeting and not awkward at all. xx
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I met my best friend through blogging! I found her blog while stumbling across some tags and loved how authentic she was. We started leaving comments back and forth, and eventually started emailing… and that led to adding each other on Facebook and exchanging contact details. After 2-3 years of chatting online via Skype and all, I headed over to New Zealand (from Canada) to meet up and it was the best two weeks of my life. We’re still friends to this day!
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That is such a beautiful story, thank you for sharing. I am so glad you finally managed to meet her in person because it is definitely not the same hugging someone through the computer.
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Awww that’s such a lovely story 😊 it’s amazing how many great people you meet online xx
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Agreed! 🙂 xx
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That’s such a sweet and lovely story of friendship! I’ve also made a friend online a few years ago over our love of TVD, and have now met her a few times when she’s travelled to London and consider her a very close friend of mine whom I can tell anything to! It’s the best xx
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Thank you! That is so cool – I think it is great that distance no longer has to play a factor in friendships.
I have actually started watching TVD recently, on the second season at the moment. Team Stefan or Team Damon? xx
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Team Damon all the way! Wait till you get to Klaus *heart-eye-emoji*. What about you?
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I have just met Klaus and I would like to have a word with the casting director because how on earth are they finding all these hot guys?! Team Stefan at the moment but I am sure that will change.
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