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How many of your online friends think of us as friends? And how many think of us as friends? If you have someone you talk to A LOT and don't know them IRL, take the time to try and get to know them better. They may even become some of your best friends. I know this for a fact. Always offer help to those who need it, or who you THINK might need it. You could be someone that saves them from a tough situation, someone who saves them from making a mistake, someone who may even save their life.
Despite only knowing a lot of my friends online, I've gotten so close with a few of them just by being there for them. And I love the feeling knowing that I am helping someone that I have such an impact on them, that I can help them through an addiction. Whether the addiction is drugs, alcohol, or even cutting, you may be the one who helps them. All you have to do is tell them that there are people who care about them, that you care about them. That you are there for them. You could really become a major influence on their life.
And even those online friends I'm not too close with, like the PMS|H2O people, I consider every one of them a friend, even those I don't know. I stick around people I care about.
Imagine, you find out one of your friends is an alcoholic (this is an example), and you drill in to their head that they are throwing their life away with alcohol. A few things can happen. Every damn day you see them, you tell them you're a friend who cares about them. And every damn day, they tell you no one cares about them. You get frustrated and you give up on them. And then you never hear from them again.
Now imagine, every damn day, you tell them you're a friend, they respond with no one cares about them, and you respond to that with "I do care about you. Would I be here right now telling you this if I didn't?" And every day, you tell them. A week later, they tell you they haven't had a drink in a few days, or checked themselves into rehab. And they can become someone who's there for you when you feel like no one is there. They can help you through your problems you may have.
That is the greatest feeling in the world, knowing that you helped curb somebodies problem. You can become someone very special to them, someone who they will always remember as someone much more than just an online friend, a fellow clan member, or even just someone your role playing with. You helped make an impact on their life.
March 9, 2010, I found out a girl I knew online for a while was cutting (we got close over a previous event that I will NOT discuss or reveal due to privacy). We texted for a long time that night. I eventually set her a message that probably had to be separated into 3+ messages, telling her that I cared, that her boyfriend cared, that people you don't know care. And how self-harm will only lead to destruction down the road and I didn't hear back from her and fell asleep.
March 10, 2010, my birthday, I get a text from her saying she threw away her razor. And I... ********... cried. I was so happy, so overjoyed that I helped her through an issue such as that, that I convinced her that she had to stop, despite it making her feel better.
s**t, thinking about this again makes me want to cry again. No. Never mind. It doesn't make me want to cry. It does make me cry. But then again, I think I'm a pretty emotional person.
But either way, online friends can become someone much much more than that. They can become a friend for life, a best friend for life, they can become so much. Always ask how your friends are doing, try and help them, convince them to stop things that are hurtful to them. You could be the final push someone needs to want to stop harming themselves whatever it is.
Love your friends. Never give up on them. Giving up and abandoning a friend could be what sends them off into a situation worse than they are already in. You can help save someone's life if the situation is severe enough. Don't just tell them "Go seek help from a professional. I can't do anything." Because you can! You can comfort them, you can talk to them, you can speak with them and do so much more, and you may be the one who ends up practically saving their life. Get in contact with that person's friends, try and get them to help the friend in need, too. Get as many people as you can, unless they come to you asking for your help.
Offer your support, offer your love. I'm off to bed now. I'm crying so hard just from writing this.
Momiji__Sohma-Kun · Fri May 14, 2010 @ 04:16am · 0 Comments |
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