Grateful for being unfriended

Grateful for being unfriended

A screenshot of my Facebook page. [Featured image by Lucy Santos]

Being unfriended on Facebook has happened to most of us at some point in our lives. I was not really surprised by most people who unfriended me; however, a recent unfriending really shocked me. I will not reveal the identity of this former friend to protect her privacy. The person who unfriended me was a lady old enough to be my mom, and she told me that she saw me like a daughter. I found out she unfriended me by looking at her page, and I was completely blindsided.

When I messaged her to find out why she unfriended me, she did not respond at all. I think that perhaps one of my Facebook posts made her upset. I sent her another message telling her that I was sorry if I did anything to offend her. After all, she was always a bit melodramatic. There was still silence from her like she was a complete stranger.

I found her friendship fascinating because she had a Hollywood career. She was a child star who acted and danced beautifully. Throughout her career, she was also a model who did several commercials. As an adult, she still succeeded in Hollywood. She is a retired dancer and choreographer. Her Facebook page is filled with black and white photos of her Hollywood glory days. She is currently an author who published two books.

Since we came from two different worlds, you may be wondering how I met her? I met her when when I wrote for a blog years ago, and she emailed me about my article that she really liked. In this blog, our emails were public, so our readers could reach us easily. We never met in person, but we became Facebook friends.

We had a friendship that lasted for years, so I was very upset when she unfriended me. Now I reached the epiphany that it is better that we are no longer friends. If I cannot be myself with a friend, then that friendship really has no value, and it is only natural for it to end.

I thought my former friend was warm, but she is really cold. After all, it was really easy for her to unfriend me. I wanted to believe that she was nice, but there was a red flag. She had asked me to unfriend one of her very close friends who had been so good to her when she was sick and who also did so many favors for her. She acted so selfishly and immaturely when she asked me to unfriend someone that she was no longer friends with. I am so glad that I did not listen to her. I am still friends with the person that she asked me to unfriend.

Unlike my former friend, I would never unfriend someone on Facebook just because I do not agree with their political or ideological beliefs. After all, I am an open minded person who learns so much from other people, especially when their beliefs are different from my own. I welcome people, from all walks of life, into my circle of friends.

Being unfriended has taught me so many lessons. One of the most important lessons is that you should not portray a false picture of yourself just to keep a friend. In the long-run, it is not worth of to make such a big sacrifice. Now I have decided to unmask myself on Facebook, so I learn who my true friends really are.