Is it weird to think highly of one of your own ideas? Conceited? I'm not sure but what I do know is that in my previous post I proposed an idea that touched a nerve in my own psyche. The idea was one of my 1/3 baked ideas; essentially to get everyone I went to high school with to allow me to add them as a friend on my new Facebook page. It came to me in a flash and I wrote my thoughts as I was thinking them. Now that I have had a little more time to digest the idea it has me sparked and thinking in a way that I don't remember in recent existence.
I have expanded the goal slightly. Not only would I like to see if I can get everyone from my graduating class as friends on Facebook but I would also like to find out a little bit about each and every person. Things such as did you get married? What age were you when you got married? How many kids do you have? What are their ages? What do you do for a living? Where do you live? Where did you go to college (if you went to college)? Ultimately I would like to get a broad view snapshot of where we have come as a collective group in the 11+ years since high school.
First thought that came to mind: can I do this? Is the goal actually realistic. I would say that it probably is not. There are some that simply would never set up a page on Facebook (or whatever the new medium becomes some time in the future while I am still endeavoring). It is possible that perhaps one or more of my classmates might no longer be alive, though I very sincerely hope that isn't the case.
Second thought that came to mind: what will be gained from this? I am by no means the smartest guy in the world, but what I've learned in my 28 years and counting is that life is too short to do nothing for no reason. Therefore just about everything I do must provide me with something constructive, be it knowledge, personal growth, entertainment. I feel that I will gain some knowledge from this should I prove successful. Learning a little bit about each person will be a unique way to connect to fellow human beings in a way that most don't and wouldn't. I find I will likely learn as much about myself as I would learn from anyone else I will interact with.
I then started to just think about what got me thinking about all of this in the first place. In your life you really have four opportunities to make lasting friendships. The first is school up through high school. For the most part, you grow up going to school with a group of people, sharing common experiences like teachers, cafeteria food, cultural flash points. The second opportunity is in college. College can really define who you become depending on who you spend it with. You hear about lifelong friends from college all the time, even more so than from high school. The coming of age which takes place during college is truly unmatched anywhere else in society. The third opportunity is in your career. You will work with many people for great lengths of time and have great chances to really get to know your coworkers and develop lasting bonds with them. The fourth opportunity is in the context of pursuing an interest or hobby, and I will include church in this. Having such a dominating common interest is a superb catalyst for connecting with people and pursuing relationships with those who share this interest.
I do not attend church or actively pursue a hobby which would let me interact with others who share the same interest. I have worked at a company where I have switched locations several times and never got more than a year or two with any one person. I attended a commuter school where everyone drove to school, attended class, then drove away to study, work or party with his or her own preexisting clique. My only real chance to make lasting friendships ended 11 years ago when we all drove down the hill after graduation. I am saddened to look back and see that I haven't had any connection with anyone I graduated with in 10 years aside from running into someone while at work or when out and about.
Don't get me wrong; what I will do is not an attempt to make friends. I will not pretend to be close friends with everyone I graduated high school with. Many I didn't know at all, other than hearing their names or seeing in the hall occasionally. What I will be is open to any and all possibilities that may arise from this endeavor. If that means I reconnect with past friends in a meaningful way I am open to that. If that means I connect with people I haven't ever really known that would be fantastic. Perhaps people have a very bad recollection of me and who I was and they want nothing to do with me. I would accept that too. I am going into this with a completely blank canvas and will allow the image to develop on its own, with no preconceived notion of what the final product will be.
Ultimately, as I stated above, life is very, very short. We never know how much time we have left or what waits for us when we wake up the next day. What we do know is that every minute gives us the power to make decisions to improve things or let them continue on their current paths. I'm not out to change the world. I'm just out to change my world; to embark on a journey that could take me to the tallest heights or to the lowest depths. I just want to try something new because of how it will make me feel to do it. I would wish that at the very least, everyone I interact with can understand this point of view and will be open to helping me accomplish this undertaking.
Thanks for reading, and big balls!
I have expanded the goal slightly. Not only would I like to see if I can get everyone from my graduating class as friends on Facebook but I would also like to find out a little bit about each and every person. Things such as did you get married? What age were you when you got married? How many kids do you have? What are their ages? What do you do for a living? Where do you live? Where did you go to college (if you went to college)? Ultimately I would like to get a broad view snapshot of where we have come as a collective group in the 11+ years since high school.
First thought that came to mind: can I do this? Is the goal actually realistic. I would say that it probably is not. There are some that simply would never set up a page on Facebook (or whatever the new medium becomes some time in the future while I am still endeavoring). It is possible that perhaps one or more of my classmates might no longer be alive, though I very sincerely hope that isn't the case.
Second thought that came to mind: what will be gained from this? I am by no means the smartest guy in the world, but what I've learned in my 28 years and counting is that life is too short to do nothing for no reason. Therefore just about everything I do must provide me with something constructive, be it knowledge, personal growth, entertainment. I feel that I will gain some knowledge from this should I prove successful. Learning a little bit about each person will be a unique way to connect to fellow human beings in a way that most don't and wouldn't. I find I will likely learn as much about myself as I would learn from anyone else I will interact with.
I then started to just think about what got me thinking about all of this in the first place. In your life you really have four opportunities to make lasting friendships. The first is school up through high school. For the most part, you grow up going to school with a group of people, sharing common experiences like teachers, cafeteria food, cultural flash points. The second opportunity is in college. College can really define who you become depending on who you spend it with. You hear about lifelong friends from college all the time, even more so than from high school. The coming of age which takes place during college is truly unmatched anywhere else in society. The third opportunity is in your career. You will work with many people for great lengths of time and have great chances to really get to know your coworkers and develop lasting bonds with them. The fourth opportunity is in the context of pursuing an interest or hobby, and I will include church in this. Having such a dominating common interest is a superb catalyst for connecting with people and pursuing relationships with those who share this interest.
I do not attend church or actively pursue a hobby which would let me interact with others who share the same interest. I have worked at a company where I have switched locations several times and never got more than a year or two with any one person. I attended a commuter school where everyone drove to school, attended class, then drove away to study, work or party with his or her own preexisting clique. My only real chance to make lasting friendships ended 11 years ago when we all drove down the hill after graduation. I am saddened to look back and see that I haven't had any connection with anyone I graduated with in 10 years aside from running into someone while at work or when out and about.
Don't get me wrong; what I will do is not an attempt to make friends. I will not pretend to be close friends with everyone I graduated high school with. Many I didn't know at all, other than hearing their names or seeing in the hall occasionally. What I will be is open to any and all possibilities that may arise from this endeavor. If that means I reconnect with past friends in a meaningful way I am open to that. If that means I connect with people I haven't ever really known that would be fantastic. Perhaps people have a very bad recollection of me and who I was and they want nothing to do with me. I would accept that too. I am going into this with a completely blank canvas and will allow the image to develop on its own, with no preconceived notion of what the final product will be.
Ultimately, as I stated above, life is very, very short. We never know how much time we have left or what waits for us when we wake up the next day. What we do know is that every minute gives us the power to make decisions to improve things or let them continue on their current paths. I'm not out to change the world. I'm just out to change my world; to embark on a journey that could take me to the tallest heights or to the lowest depths. I just want to try something new because of how it will make me feel to do it. I would wish that at the very least, everyone I interact with can understand this point of view and will be open to helping me accomplish this undertaking.
Thanks for reading, and big balls!
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