CARIBOU.

Currently, I am inside Caribou pretending to work on my APUSH project. But, I sort of need a study break, so I thought I'd write a little something in my blog :)

Lately, I've been feeling really frustrated with people in my generation. I feel like people aren't communicating face to face anymore. Or even talking on the phone that much! It's all facebook and texting. Sometimes a quick text can be useful. Or, if you want to tell your friend something that isn't that important, write it on their facebook wall. I can appreciate that, and I know I do it all the time. But I really hate how communication over the internet has spread to relationships with the opposite sex. These impersonal methods of communication can be really difficult to decipher. You can't tell how a person is really feeling with a message of 160 characters. Even with my girlfriends, sometimes by their punctuation I get the impression that they are mad at me, when in fact, they're just feeling lazy and don't want to have about 10 million smiley faces in the message. But facebook/texting flirting just really pisses me off.

I will be the FIRST to admit that I have texting anxiety. With the quickness that messages can be sent, you expect a speedy reply. But, that may not always be the case. When I am texting a boy I like and don't get an immediate response (probably because they aren't with their phone 24/7) I get nervous that they don't want to talk to me, or think my message is awkward and then I feel all self-conscious and freak out. It's bad, but it happens. And I know I'm not the only one with this problem.

There is also the smiley face issue. I'm naturally a really smiley person and therefore like to add a lot of smileys to my text messages. But, when you're texting a boy, that can come across as being super flirty. Which, can be a good thing sometimes. But, it also can send the wrong message. Sometimes, I want to send smiley faces like I would to any of my girlfriends, but then guys think I'm trying to flirt, when really, I'm not.

And, the being on the internet or texting can give you a sense of confidence when talking to a guy/girl you like. You may not talk to a person at school at all, but text all the time. And that just makes school awkward when you see them 'cause you want to talk in person, but have a complete cyber relationship. NOT COOL.

The truth is, texting (a member of the opposite gender) is just confusing. It may mean a lot to you to be texting a boy you like, but to them, it's just texting. I know I do it too. I mean, I text boys all the time, but that doesn't mean I like them. But if they like me, stuff can get messy. Texting someone really doesn't mean anything more than friendship. And flirting over text is just awkward. And impersonal. So here's my solution.

Guys, if you like a girl, CALL HER! It shows that you actually want to talk to her live and know what she's thinking. You can talk to people on a much deeper level. And, it also shows courage. Girls don't get phonecalls from guys everyday and it makes her feel special. You know what else is great? Writing notes telling people how you feel. It is less pressure that talking to someone live, but people don't handwrite notes very often anymore, and that also shows people you care. A love note is something you can keep forever. If you do it right, a girl probably will :)

 Overall, I think texting can be good, sometimes. But don't let that be the only way you talk to someone.