Bill Gates: Too Many Friends?

I just read on Yahoo News that Bill Gates is quitting Facebook because he has "too many friends." Now, I have never met Mr. Gates but I am going out on a limb that he may not have been Mr. Popularity in high school. Not that it matters. Most people go through their lives somewhere on the continuum between confident and completely insecure. We want to be liked. Heck, even Sally Field addressed an audience of celebs when she won an Oscar. "They like me!"

Maybe Mr. Gates has so much money and has achieved so much success that he is out of the game. I have always thought life tends to resemble the high school cafeteria. Bill Gates may be the guy with the cool car who left campus during lunch!

Cherished Friendships

As I wind down my week on the East Coast, reconnecting with family and dear friends, I reflect on ideas shared over coffee, lunch, dinner, and cocktails.

Meeting with high school classmates, I am brought instantly back to the late 70s. We may be a bit older and have had interesting experiences, but it is like no time has passed. I am so blessed to have these friends in my life but am a bit saddened that I waited so long to get to truly know them. However, I am mindful that we don't really know ourselves until we reach our 40s.

Earlier in the office center of my hotel, I overheard two twenty-something girls wish they could go back to high school. Most people, when asked, would rather have a root canal than go back to high school. Sometimes, I think I would love a do-over, a chance to go back to high school knowing what I know now. Perhaps that is why I have the desire to impart my children with my new found wisdom! But, some lessons need to be learned first-hand.

Our high school years are spent figuring out our identities and struggling with Calculus, acne, or a goofy grin. We are worried nobody likes us yet we may not even like ourselves. The four brief years spent in high school may not seem critical or life-altering until years later, as we attend reunions or turn the pages of our now dated yearbooks. We may not realize at the time, but the shared experiences of our teen years do inspire a close bonding. Classmates who may not even have spoken much outside of class may become close friends as adults.

As an idealist, I tend to form unattainably high expectations for most of my experiences. I expected high school to be John Hughes film with all the warm fuzzies or at least a cute guy in a red Porsche coming to take me away. I enjoyed my time spent learning, laughing with friends, chatting about our crushes or what we would wear. I wish I had slowed down and paid more attention to each moment. At my high school graduation, I remember becoming tearfully aware that this part of my life had passed. But, as this week has proven to me, you can go home again.

Living in a Virtual World 'Cause I am a Virtual Girl

The internet has been one of history's most life-changing technologies, right up there with the invention of the telephone, radio, and television. E-mail, instant messaging, and Skype have changed the way we communicate with each other. The web has opened an unrivaled pathway to information, transforming the way students complete research projects. Of course, with the good comes the bad. Newspaper readership is at an all-low and many daily newspapers have folded or at the very least, have become a sparse collection of AP wire stories. People talk about the demise of the bookstore in favor of Kindle and other downloading technologies. While I quickly adapt to the changes, I am a strong proponent of the written word. I grew up browsing our World Book Encyclopedia and its annual updates. Many times, I would get lost in the library after school; my mother would contemplate filing a missing person's report. Alas, this was an era before cell phones and texting. I was the first to applaud the addition of Starbuck's to Barnes & Noble. A latte or even a drip while browsing the stacks of books? I think I do believe in heaven!

The internet has created a fourth virtual dimension. Initially, sites such as Classmates.com presented an online class reunion. We could Google and Zabasearch our way to find old boyfriends, girlfriends, classmates, roommates, and work colleagues. Of course, the reverse was also possible. We could no longer hide from the folks we may have decided to drop like a hot potato.

The advent of social networking sites such as Facebook has created a virtual community where we can reminisce with hometown chums, share ideas and conversation with a wide group of "friends." We no longer need to wait for annual holiday cards to post photos of our kids. We can even browse our elementary school class pictures or college era photos others may have posted. We find new friendships among people we may not have seen in 25 plus years.

Yet, the reunion aspect and comment-sharing applications of Facebook are just the tip of the iceberg. At a late night birthday dinner with a new friend, we discussed social networking. My friend profoundly noted when we reconnect with those from our past, we are looking for pieces of ourselves.

An intricate highway of experiences have led us to this stage of our lives. We would not be who we are today without the sum total of our past relationships. In order to move forward on life's journey, we need to stop at traffic lights along the way. As we come to an intersection, we must often make difficult choices. Reflecting on our youth, we may lament a time when the road was entirely ahead of us. We may become nostalgic for simpler times. Reminiscing with our childhood and high school friends provides comfort food for our souls. Our journeys may be far from complete. We will continue to come to forks in the road which will determine our futures. As the map unfolds, we write our own stories. Along the way, we may be surprised with relationships rekindled from earlier days. Finding a precious friend among those whose paths we may have crossed in the past is most extraordinary. People come in and out of our lives for a reason. We guide each other through difficult times and laugh through the good times. We nurture and inspire each other.

A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” (William Shakespeare.)