“Blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of God’s best gifts. It involves many things, but above all, the power of going out of one’s self and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another.” –Thomas Hughes

About four months ago, I decided to begin my quest to improve all aspects of my life. In doing so, I have found my way onto many forums and blogs. For the first month and half or so, I sat back and just read all of the posts, soaking in all of the information I could take. Then, about two and a half months ago, something inside of me changed. It was not enough anymore to sit and watch people have conversations about topics I could join in on.

I finally decided to take the plunge into the online world of communication. In the past, I had sent e-mails and IM’s with my friends and other acquaintances I had in my personal life. I had not, however, ever actively gone out of my way to talk with people I did not know. This was definitely a new but exciting experience.

The first place that I began participating actively was the Shave My Face forum. I had just began to delve into the hobby of wet shaving and thought there was no better place to go. The guys there are great. Any question I had was answered within minutes. I now can say I get a much better shave because of them. When I first started posting, I would just ask questions about how to get the proper shave. I wouldn’t throw my two cents in on other people’s posts. After getting my feet wet for about a week, I decided that it was time to see what I had learned and began posting regularly. This got me over my fear of “sounding stupid” or “being wrong.” These guys wouldn’t judge if I was misinformed on a subject. They would just help me get the correct information. I am now continuously checking the different posts and making comments whenever I can. If you ever get the chance to check it out, I highly recommend it. My username is Pjdatzil.

After about a month of Shave My Face, I decided to branch out to other forums, and finally I began writing this blog. This blog has been great so far. I have really enjoyed writing about subjects I am truly passionate about. I always have 1,001 different ideas flowing through my head, so to finally be able to get those out on paper and be able to share them with others is a great feeling. The kind of feedback I have been getting from you is great and I appreciate EVERY e-mail and comment I get.

So then, what is the best thing that has happened since becoming an online presence? It is being able to communicate, interact, and become friends with people I meet online. I think part of the reason this is so great and exciting is because there are endless amounts of people I can meet and interact daily with. In my personal life, at work and school, I have limited contact with a few people. That is not true online. Online, I am able to meet people from all over the globe. I have never been able to travel (although that is one of my goals), so to be able to talk with a person from another country is great.

I recently began having a conversation with a person from Turkey. I randomly saw a picture she had taken and asked if I could use it for my site. After we had exchanged a few e-mails, I had made a new acquaintance with a person that is half-way around the world. Now, my goal is to stay in contact. It is great to be able to shoot an e-mail out to somebody to see how they are doing or to see what is new in their life.

After meeting people from everywhere, you begin to realize what the internet age has done for the world. It has truly “shrunk” the globe. Before the internet, I would have rarely had the opportunity to be able to talk with a person from another country. Now, with a press of a button, I can communicate with almost anybody in the world at almost anytime. When I look at a map, I think about how far away the people I am talking with live, but at the same time they feel like they are so close because it is so easy to contact them.

For somebody like me, being able to stay in touch with people from different countries has really been beneficial. It has allowed me to realize that we really should not think about being from different nations. When I talk to somebody from a different country, I don’t think I’m an American and they are an Aussie. We are just two people having a conversation. It has really opened my eyes to the types of people that are out there and that we may be of different nationalities, but we really are all the same.

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