Dear Poor Lucky Me,
It feels like every time I send a Facebook friend request to some one from high school they reply that they don’t remember me. Even people who I spent weekend after weekend hanging out with, now 10 years later they say “Oh were we friends?”.
I am trying not to take it personally but it’s not easy. I have good memories of high school but I’m beginning to think I was delusional or something.
Do you have any theories about this phenomenon?
Signed,
I Thought I Was Cool
Dear I Thought I Was Cool,
You probably were cool, you might even still be cool. The problem with reconnecting with high school friends on Facebook is that we are required, as adults, to remember all sorts of things that may have pushed out earlier information.
I don’t know if it’s true for everyone, but my brain holds a finite amount of information. For instance: I used to work at a company that made you change your email password every four months. Consequently, I cannot access any of the World War II battles that I learned in college. Learning my new cell phone number made me forget two former Soviet Republics. When I moved last year and had to learn my new address, I forgot all the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven. When my office moved, I decided to write the new address on a card in my wallet instead of risking losing the lyrics to Celebrate. Then I was at the gym- not working out, just standing on the treadmill and watching TV because my cable was out- and someone stole my wallet. So, I haven’t been to work in a week in a half. I have no idea where in the hell it is. I can’t ask my boss, so I’m just waiting until they update the website.
Be patient with your friends from a former life. They might slowly remember the great times you had together, and even if they don’t, you know the good times happened. Now it’s time to make new friends and have new experiences.
Sincerely,
Poor Lucky Me
