Online Friends For Years...

As I got older, it has become difficult to meet new people and form new friendships. In addition, I work from home, so the probability of meeting even coworkers or people in the same field is close to none. However, there are some people I met online who I have kept in touch with for years.

Well, some of them came and went, but others stayed for more than a decade. Take for example this Japanese friend I met online more than 10 years ago. We both love anime, so maybe that's why we clicked. I call him Jintan, Takeru-kun, and even my Hime-sama.

We met online, and had a great time chatting about many things... just like friends you meet in real life, or even better in his case since we understood each other and we're always on the same wavelength. After a few months of chatting, he decided to come to Cebu to study English for a month. Another reason, of course, is for us to meet up in person.

He brought me and my family a lot of souvenirs. He also got along pretty well with my parents, maybe because of his friendly and crazy personality.

It was funny how awkward we were the first time we met in person. We were in a big shopping mall near his Academy that time. We just said hi and then there's silence. I might be crazy and talkative online, but I'm actually quite awkward in person, so I'm happy he broke the ice and I felt comfortable hanging out with him afterwards.

After coming to Cebu that year, he went to Canada and then New Zealand. We had huge time difference, especially when he went to Canada, but it didn't stop us.

We'd video call each other from time to time, when we're not busy... or when there's some huge updates in our lives. We also jokingly promised that we won't be in any relationship and still hangout even until we're gray and old. hahaha

Even now, with what happened to my family and I during the typhoon, he was among the people who helped us even though he's not working and is technically a student at the moment. He's graduating this March, though... so congrats Jintan!

And yeah... Jintan is from the anime AnoHana... hahaha It's not his real name, but I've been calling him that ever since. The last time we met in person was around 2018, I think? It was before the pandemic... He and his friends came to Cebu for a vacation. I couldn't meet his friends as I was busy that time, but he stayed for another day to meet me when I'm free before going back to Japan.

Our friendship may have just started online, but our bond is equal to that of my real-life friends.

Aside from Jintan, I also have a number of online friends here on HIVE... Some of them I've interacted with from the previous platform... while the others I've befriended recently on Snaps. My HIVE friends these days are mostly from Brazil and Venezuela, and it's so interesting interacting with them. I learn things from them as well, and we share stories from our countries as well as explore fields we enjoy here on HIVE.

I may have not met them in real life yet, but I'm positive that they're not going to be any different. Their kindness and bubbly personalities would make me feel at ease when interacting with them.

In the end, it's the bond and friendship that count regardless of meeting them online or in real-life first.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you around! Have a good one...