Remember the times, back in primary school, where we wrote autograph books for one another. Yes…maybe during secondary school, even during your (junior) college / poly / university days, you still posted entries in each others’ autograph books. (Alright, if you consider testimonies in Myspace & Friendster as similar posts, it means the same things as well, but personally I prefer old school). I was trying my best to tidy up my room (mum nagging in the background, room could be much neater), when I saw my old autograph book. It certainly brought back numerous memories. Brushed aside the dust, flipped it open, tried to attach each name I see to faces, and had to refer back to school magazines when I couldn’t recall the faces. Then… there were those poems: Remember the word ‘M’
Remember the word ‘E’
Put them together
And remember ‘ME’ I am a Fish,
You are a Duck,
I swim to you
And say ‘Good Luck’ There are other vivid little things - The use of multi-coloured pens looks ever-so vintage,
Discussing our ambition, dreams, hobbies
Listing friends in categories of best / good / okay / …
Including standard details like address and birthdays were a must,
Telephone numbers were still 7 digits,
There’s probably an odd pager number,
Favourite songs / soccer team / idols
Plenty of ‘friends forever’, ‘good luck’ and ‘keep in touch’
Those artistically inclined ones would have left some nice works behind,
While others make do with some designs they could barely muster,
Words of thanks, encouragement
Leaving behind our very first signatures. So many good times,
So many good friends,
So many good memories. So many thoughts flooded my mind. Because, I find that there are friendships,
That we cherish so much,
Especially those that we had
Seems so distant. During times where we were all so innocent,
Where there wasn’t back-stabbing,
Hatred,
Quarrels that never last more than a week, Those days,
Are no longer around. Friends we make these days, we tend not to treat them as genuine as before.
We suspect whether they have any motive in getting closer to us.
We fear rejection
We even find out from other mutual friends,
Information that we are keen to know,
Yet not courageous enough to ask them ourselves. We have all changed! Like it or not. Friendships.
Are increasingly superficial,
Hidden with hidden agenda,
Lacks honesty and sincerity I can only wish,
In times of need,
That people I treat as friends,
Would extend their help,
Because I would do the same,
To lend a helping hand. And… The number of friends you have on Friendster / Myspace / and any other website that has an online community, doesn’t mean a single thing, if everyone there is merely to make up numbers. Period.
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