this is exactly how i feel about the blogosphere:

the crazy thing about tumblr…

is that you literally watch people’s lives change. you watch them struggle, pray, celebrate, ache, anticipate, grow. you get a little window into the moments that seem insignificant, as well as the moments that are life changing. you see first dates and wedding days. you watch children being born and then growing into people. you witness loss and sadness. you see people make hard decisions and you see them make really easy ones. you get to see the glamour, and sometimes they even show you the mundane. we are all strangers, but somehow we are also friends. we are connected by this simple, complicated, pointless, meaningful, crazy little world. i’ve dramatically cut back on my tumblr use in the last few months, mostly because i just haven’t had time, but when i come back, i’m always amazed by tumblr. keep living life, friends. thank you for sharing it. 🙂 (via)

sometimes i catch myself referring to bloggers i follow as if they are old girlfriends (i do this with celebrities, too. don’t worry about it), sharing the news of the recent birth of their child or job promotion as if i have some vested interest in it as well. and while it could be a little embarrassing, admitting this fascination with lives of perfect strangers, i’ve come to accept that i’m perfectly okay feeling this way. feeling as if they are just another individual in my community, another source of wisdom and support, of comfort and identification. because like the author of this says, “we are connected by this simple, complicated, pointless, meaningful, crazy little world.” and i think that’s kind of awesome.