Staying Connected

I ran into an old friend last night in the comfort of my living room. I was on Facebook, which is fairly new to me but I’m getting the hang of it, looking at the list of folks I had graduated college with and lo’ and behold there was Beth’s name. Beth and I didn’t ‘hang-out’ in the same circle but she was a true friend. She was great if I just wanted to talk to someone or I needed a little help with my accounting work. (She is now a CPA … and I have no clue how I even passed Accounting 101, much less Accounting 200 and Statistics 1 & 2.) We had lost touch after graduation, as so often happens with any type of relocation.

How fun it is to re-connect with folks from your past. I use both Myspace and Facebook and have found friends from early high school and now through college.

Don’t forget OPSEC with any of these sites. I keep my personal myspace account private, only accepting invitations from those people I know. I have never mentioned my husband’s unit or dates when he is expected to be in or out of country and when he will be home. You won’t find specifics as to where he is going to be overseas during his deployment anywhere in my accounts either. I’ve written once before on the importance of OPSEC. I can’t stress it enough.

That being said… these social networks are a whole lot of fun. As a military-brat they have afforded me the opportunity to meet old friends, new friends and even friends I see around town. I would suggest checking out our joint venture with America Support You on Facebook: Where I served. You can find friends that you have been stationed with previously; as a brat, a spouse, or a service member!

If you are feeling ‘disconnected’ from college friends, high school friends, friends from previous posts – reach out. It was no small thing for me to find an old college friend online. It reminded me of where I have come from, what life was like a “few years ago”, and who has mattered in my life. We just can’t forget that!