Here's the thing, I live in a tiny town. Meeting anyone new around here is virtually impossible and as someone who loves to make new friends this was a major downer for me. I've never once set out to find friends online. It always just happens on it's own. It usually starts with basic comments and chit chat then it goes to 'we should hang out sometime'. Sounds insane to some, I know, but clearly it's not crazy to everyone or else I wouldn't have all of these awesome friends that I met online. I'm not saying that you all should do this. The world is a messed up place and sadly we can't trust a lot of people. I am saying though that in some SAFE situations it's nice to let your guard down a little and make a new friend that you wouldn't of met the normal way. Last night I finally met a girl named Lauren that I had been getting to know for months. I knew that we had a lot in common before meeting her in person but I didn't expect her to be my spirit twin like she ended up being. I had so much fun and laughed so hard. At this point I'm basically ready to put a ring on it hahahaha. But really, not only are we totally alike but our husbands have a lot in common too. They are going to come down to go fishing with us soon and I'm so excited for them to experience a little dose of country life. Lauren is from Chicago and her, her husband, and their baby boy currently live in Tulsa so our ways of life are very different which makes it that much more fun.
It's weird to me to think that I wouldn't of made all of these awesome friends if I had never took the chance to go meet them in person and to get to know them. Again, I'm NOT saying that we should all just go out and meet a bunch of random strangers. That would be silly. I am however saying that there are SAFE ways to make new friends.
As a veteran meeting new people in person-er (I may or may not of just made that up) here are my tips:
-Always meet in a very public and busy place
-Never meet at anyone's house
-Never get into a vehicle with someone new
-Let your spouse take you to meet them if he or she wants to
-If not make sure that your spouse or someone that you know knows exactly where you are, what the name of the person that you are meeting is, and what they look like
-Have a safe word that you can text or call and say to your spouse that let's them know if something feels off to you
-Call your spouse when you've made it to where you are going and have met the person as well as when you are back in your care and headed home
-Make sure you have mutual friends and know people that know the person that you are meeting
-Never share basic personal information. They don't need to know your address or where you bank. Nothing like that.
-Common sense is key! Be smart and use your what is hopefully obvious common knowledge on things.
Honestly some of these seem a little extreme to me because I always in one way or another know the person that I'm meeting. I have a naturally good judgment when it comes to safety. It's not like blind dating ha. I think the boundary of not meeting a stranger with no mutual friends is very important.
I might be a lunatic/weirdo but I'll wear that title proudly because I've made some of my best friends this way. Friends that I've had for years now and will continue to have forever I'm sure. I have no regrets. Not even when I didn't hit it off well with a person. But I would have regrets if I had never got to know most of these people because I hadn't taken that leap of faith. As a stay at home mom who lives in a small town it is very hard to meet new people. I'm so thankful for the balls that I have to go out there and make new friends ha. Family and friends truly are everything.
grt
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