Marco Canto
Composition I
“Adrian”
Ms. McGee

Everyday, as I log in to my Facebook page, I get plenty notices from friends and family posts. I surf thru them trying to see if anything will capture my attention. Some of the posts are irritating and make you even more tired, especially after a long day at work. However, there are those posts from a particular friend that make you wonder and say, “what the fudge”. Crazy partying, expensive clothes, cars, and things that are usually for people that either have a lot of money to spare or have too much are some of the post from my friend, Andy. It’ll usually get plenty of compliments and nonchalant comments because posts like these can sometime get a reaction from someone or somebody not necessarily wanting to engage. But if I know my friend, I know that this is far from the truth.
My friend is an undocumented alien. He’s been in the states now for 15 years, alone, depressed, poor, and working for so much less that what someone with his skills and expertise is making. I met him thru my wife who went to the same management class when he was still new to this country. We became friends and have been ever since.
On facebook, he portrays himself as a party guy who likes to buy people drinks and pick up the tab when eating out. He parties hard and creates an impression that there is nothing in this world that bothers him or that he could care about. In reality, he longs to go back to his birth country to be with his family. His father died without seeing him and to this day, he has not gotten over that. He post pictures of himself with all these material things but the truth is, he is broke as a fucking rat. Fortunately for the rat, it can go back home to its family after finding food to eat. For him, it’s he has his bed and his laptop.
As much as I want to tell him or confront him about his post, I just feel sad and have compassion instead. I don’t envy the material things or want to do the stuff that he does but I do feel that he needs it to hide a sad truth. We sometimes have to let people deal with their “issues” rather than helping them by telling what to do or not do. The only way I can help him is by lending him an ear. I think this is another to help someone heal their scared soul is when you let them talk and just listen.
Adrian is one of those guys you want to be around when you’re hanging with your buddies. He definitely brings the “fun” in when you’re out kickin’ it with your friends. He projects an image that we all somehow envy. We all want to be carefree sometimes. However, I do know this person. And, when he’s all alone, he cries and yearns for his family.
Being online definitely gives you the freedom to do whatever you want and be something you want to be. It all depends on how you project yourself. There have been a lot of books written about how people would act if they had a mask on. Facebook is kind of like a mask. The difference is, it does not hide who you are, instead you redirect people’s attention to something else. You can be the person you’re not by saying posting things and pictures online that show you are.
People have their own reason for doing things. I don’t think he’s hurting anyone. I happen to know my friend for who he really is. He’s a good friend and helpful when he wants to be. We all sometimes have a mask of our own. But we’ve gotten really good at controlling ourselves and Facebook is just another avenue that gives us freedom to control what people think about us. However, this is our generation. We have to abide by the rules, live and adjust to society changes so people won’t think we’re weird or stuck in the past.