I've made a great friend! (Your online social life)

Member Name: Claribella

Product:	Your online social life
Date:	23/01/09 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Met someone who is half way across the world.

Disadvantages: Can be dodgy.

When my auntie turned around one day and told us she had met a guy and he was going to move in with her we were all excited and happy for her. No one knew she was seeing someone but we thought she had kept it quiet because of her previous experiences with men. After a while she spoke about how she had met him on the internet and they had been chatting for months. We were all a little apprehensive about it all but was still glad she had found someone that she really loved. Then she went on to say that she had never met him face to face. This was the point when we all got very worried. She had met this guy on the internet and was inviting him to move down from London and live in her home. To say we were worried was an understatement! Anyway that was eight years ago and they are still together and hoping to get married soon.

If I'm being dead honest I judged her for her actions, questioning her sanity and wondering how anyone could randomly invite someone into their home having not even met them. I remember going through the worry of 'He could be a murderer or rapist' and it's only now that I find myself in a similar situation that I realize her reasoning.

I have a Facebook account which I am totally and utterly addicted to. Everyday I check my wall to see if I have any new messages and go through all of my friends status' to see what they are up to. During my time as a Facebook member I have joined various groups; one being a 'New mummy' group. One day I was looking through some of the posts and someone had written how they were terribly broody even though they had just give birth. I felt exactly the same (and still do now after recently giving birth to my second!) so made contact with this girl. We chatted through Facebook email and over time we realized we could be the same person. We had so much in common; we were both mums, Christians, wanted another child soon, had a little boy, been through eating disorders etc etc.

As time progressed our relationship has got so much stronger and I feel like she is a such a good friend. It really annoys me that she lives so far away, America in fact and I just know that we would get along brilliantly. We have on the odd occasion used the live link on Facebook to chat but we have yet to use a webcam as she hasn't got one.

I know all the pessimists will be thinking, 'Shes having you on' and maybe that's true but I find that really hard to believe because she has a lot of friends and family on her Facebook page along with pics of them all and of her little babies. Yes I know she could have got them from anywhere but why would a young girl of my age chat up me?

Anyway the reason I am in a similar boat to my aunty is because I'd love to go out and meet her. I feel that we are almost like best friends and I share things with her that I don't with anyone else apart from my hubby. At the moment it's not financially viable for us to do this but when we have finished paying off our debt then we will have a lot of spare cash available.

I will definitely chat to her via a webcam before we make the trip out there but the thought of that is very nerve racking. I often think 'I wonder if we will get on so well face to face?. Obviously that's not something I can answer yet but hope to one day.

So in a nutshell, my online social life isn't huge consisting of Facebook but it has been very rewarding in that I've made a very special friend that I hope to meet soon.

Summary: A new friend for me.