A long long time ago, in a Galaxy far far away (known as Middle Georgia) there was a girl with two very small circles of friends. She had friends at school and friends she went to church with, most of whom went to a different school.

Then the girl went off to college. So she added another circle of friends.

The circles overlapped very slightly, but not enough to really matter.

Then the girl got married. There were the husband’s friends. And people they met together. They overlapped ever-so-slightly with the other circles but then…

Then there were babies. And OMGTHEINTERNET! There were friends from iVillage, friends from ChaCha and chats. THEN THERE WAS FACEBOOK! Which really was all of the original four circles of friends.

All my non-circle-hexagons of internet friends stayed separate. Until recently.

Something happened. December’s Finest friends were on Facebook too. Somehow Twitter and Facebook worlds collided. Blogging friends are on Facebook and Twitter and are now my friends and friends of my blog page.

Some I’ve met. Some have met OTHER friends. Some chat friends are friends with DF friends. Some Twitter friends really do know people I went to college with.

Now I’m friends with people in multiple places. It’s confusing.

But there’s a lesson here. You didn’t think you’d get by with just pictures and no moral today, did you?

A lot of people take on different identities when dabbling in different types of social media. In real life they are one person. Online they are another. Maybe they have one attitude on Facebook and have another on Twitter. Yes, I cuss more on Twitter than on FB or my blog even. What’s it to ya?

But I’m the same person. I may not be exactly the same person I was in high school or college, but life’s handed me situations that have permanently changed me. Some for the better, some possibly for the worse. But I’m still Jana. I still stay true to myself. I try not to be a different person in different situations.

For one, that’s got to be exhausting. Can you imagine living two separate identities? I don’t have the time or energy or the brain cells available to do that. It’s easier just to *be* and embrace who you are and what you stand for.

As confusing as my circles and hexagons of friends are, I don’t HAVE to be confused about who is where and who knows what because I am the same across the board (again, aside from the cussing). I try to be a friend to all and understand each person’s side in situations and not start trouble and not perpetuate trouble.