Facebook is a funny thing. For so long, I resisted the urge to join. Yet, it is like the Borg it seems - resistance is futile. Like any technology, it's got its pros and cons, but I have to say I do enjoy being able to more easily keep in touch with old friends with little fuss. Heck, it keeps me in touch with current friends, though at times it can also seem stalker-ish. I mean, do people really need to know what I'm doing at any given moment?

The more interesting phenomenon has been the virtual high school reunion. I'm now Facebook friends with a whole host of people I don't think would ever have called me a friend in high school. As we catch up and see what everyone has been up to (and I do think that curiosity perhaps has a lot to do with some of these friendships), I find myself sometimes wondering if I existed on the same planet as them during those years.

Sifting through pictures, realizing how many of them still stay in touch - truly in touch and not just Facebook - I feel a little like I am in an alternate universe. My high school experience was not enjoyable to say the least. I had my little group of friends, and we had fun, but for the most part, my social calendar was not overflowing beyond that. Heck, let's call it what it was - I was a nerd. I knew I was missing out on some of the scene, and I knew that I was different, but other than just wanting out, I made it through.

It wasn't until this Facebook reunion started though, that I realized I lived in a completely different world. Not only did I miss out on many moments - I was never privy to knowing they existed. Dances, parties, trips...heck - some of them even went on to the same college as me and I never knew it. Completely different universe.

Would I change that? I honestly don't know. I'd like to take the mature, high road and say no, because everything that happened before has made me who I am today. Deep down, though, I think there will always be a little part of me that wonders "what if?" What if I had existed in the same reality? Maybe not a part of the same crowd, but maybe not quite so completely removed. And another part of me wonders if my memory just fails me and I knew all this at the time and have blocked it all out because I've moved on to bigger and better things.

Either way, I'm pretty sure those alternate worlds still exist in high schools (and beyond), and that makes me a little sad. In fact, I'm pretty sure the isolation and taunting has only gotten worse if the world-at-large is any indication. Maybe I should be glad I can exist in my own little world where I've moved beyond the hurts of the past and am content with my life, knowing I'm where God has called me to be. Or maybe I should 'fess up' and admit that old hurts don't just die, and give them up to God and be happy that I am content with my life now, knowing I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

Besides, as shiny as their past may seem with my nose against the Facebook window, deep down I am pretty sure we are ALL a bunch of misfits in a crazy world.