like the old days

a friend i met online and followed on instagram years ago reached out to me after finding my blog. i haven't been on instagram for more than a year now, and she didn't have my phone number.

i was genuinely so happy to get her email. it felt like the old days, when you reached out to people through email, tumblr, or whatever else was around at the time.

she told me she's visiting istanbul, so hopefully we'll get the chance to turn our online friendship into a real-life one.

she also told me that she'd read my blog posts, which made me go back and read through them myself. somehow, i suddenly became very self-aware of everything i'd written.

some of them made me think, this is actually pretty good advice, tuğba. you should probably take your own advice. others felt a little cringe, but that's okay too.

when you reach a certain age, you stop worrying so much about whether your writing is cool enough or cringe enough. you just let it exist.

anyway, i'm happy that we reconnected through a blog page, and that something that existed entirely online might now turn into something tangible and real.

these days, it feels like everyone is so comfortable with connecting online that we don't really miss spending time with people in real life anymore.

meeting a friend, giving them your full attention, figuring out what to do together, and simply being present through all the little ordinary moments can feel like a burden to some people.

and honestly, seeing that hurts my heart a little.

so i try my best to keep my connections rooted in real life.

i still appreciate online friendships and all the strange, beautiful ways the internet brings people together. but i don't want my real-life friendships to slowly turn into online connections.

you know what i mean?

i know you do.

or at least i know that the bear community does :)