… being its ability to allow people who haven’t seen each other in a long time to reconnect… or stalk one another.

I am somewhat guilty of the latter. I haven’t really stayed in touch with folks I knew in high school. Vaguely, rarely, perfunctorily. I had a busy freshman year of college — the year it would have been best to stay and keep connected — and by the time that was over, I was with Bryan and focusing on getting better grades and everything in the past was essentially nonessential. In a way, most people of the past were nonessential after I graduated.

This morning I was obligatorily checking Facebook and I saw a high school teammate’s sister got married. In attendance at her wedding were a huge group of my high school teammates (softball and field hockey) and the boys with whom they were friends or had dated. I have vivid memories of high school spring and fall days by the gym parking lot watching these people socialize (probably from over the cover of a Robert Jordan book) and thinking, “Wow. They’re not very intelligent, but damn they are pretty and fun.” (Mentally putting people down kept me from feeling too lonely. Damn high school.) Here they were in these photos. Some of them got fat — and ugly. Some of the guys had started balding (one in particular pretty bad, and I had LIKED him, ugh), and it looked for all like it was 2001. Like nothing had changed for them in 6 years.

Granted, I made several assumptions (and yes, those who assume make an… yes, you know). But I don’t really care whether or not anything’s happened to any of them. I don’t really respect them any more. If I got back in touch, what would we say? I was years younger than a few of them and we have nothing in common anymore besides. I have no desire to get in touch with them except for negative reasons, and I really don’t want to be that bitchy girl who gets in touch to gloat. I can gloat without them having to be present, and it’s somewhat more respectable that way.

Anyway. I had a bitter, odd moment when looking at those photos. I negated that, I think — I hope — by IMing with a long-ago friend from CMU who now works in the city. Reconnecting with her will be infinitely easier than reconnecting with anyone from high school (well, with a lot of folks from high school. There are a few notable exceptions). Hopefully we’ll be able to get together and catch up and enjoy ourselves a little — and this city we’ve found ourselves in.