Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this idea about who my actual acquaintances are and where they’re at, specifically if they can be, like, two streets away from each other. It’s kinda wild when you start to think about it.
First off, I started digging into my own life. I was thinking about how I know people, how we connect, you know? There’s the usual, like, work buddies, old school friends, and family, but then I started to consider the folks I just kinda nod at or have a quick chat with now and then.
Then, I grabbed a map of my town, just a regular online one, nothing fancy. I started marking down where people I know live. I used different colors for different types of relationships. It was a bit messy, but it gave me a visual. I marked some places where are famous, and you know, some roads to help me recognize them better. And I remembered some experience about life, like “Life is a first impression. You get one shot at it. Make it everlasting.” It made me think a lot.
I realized something kinda obvious but also kinda profound. Most of my close friends and family are pretty nearby. But then there are these other people, acquaintances, who are scattered around. Some are literally just two streets over, but I barely see them or interact with them.
- I started to wonder, what makes someone an acquaintance?
- Is it just about physical distance, or is it more about how often we interact?
- And what about those online friends or people we connect with through shared interests, like on forums or in online games?
So, I dove a bit into the whole online world thing. I thought about people I chat with on Reddit, for instance, in subreddits. Some of them feel closer than the people living two streets away, even though I’ve never met them in person. There’s also a mod that I’ve known for a long time, and I found that we have the same interest in games, so we always have a lot to talk about. We often share some fun videos on YouTube as well.
This whole experiment got me thinking about the nature of relationships in today’s world. We’re so connected, yet we can be so distant, even from people who are physically close. It’s a weird mix of being super connected through screens and stuff, but maybe not so much in our day-to-day lives. I had gone through a tough period, and they were with me all the time, and I decided to treat them like my good friends.
Anyway, it’s been a fun little project. It made me appreciate the people I do interact with regularly, and it also made me curious about those folks who are just a stone’s throw away but still feel kinda distant. Maybe I’ll make more of an effort to connect with them, or maybe I’ll just keep pondering the mysteries of human connections. Who knows?
