1. Your High School Boyfriend/Girlfriend
Remember, your teenage experiences are statistically the most memorable in your life, and that includes whoever you were head over heels in love with. There’s a reason the rate of high school sweethearts reuniting years later and getting married is so high. Even if you’re not remotely interested in that kind of reunion, this person probably meant more to your life than you even realize. Revisiting them means revisiting yourself when you were naive and hopeful about relationships. And even if things ended badly, there’s always a chance that you’ll pull up their profile and find out they got really fat.
2. A Special Teacher
You’re probably saying to yourself that all your teachers are old and retired now, and that just because one teacher was especially memorable to you doesn’t mean he or she would recall your name. But you might be surprised. Even if the teacher who inspired you doesn’t remember who you are, it will be a great feeling to connect with them on an adult level and let them know what they said or did that made them so influential. That’s why teachers take the job, after all. Send them a note of thanks, even if it’s a few decades late.
3. A Long-lost Relative
When you’re younger, you get used to seeing aunts, uncles, cousins, and other family members at every Thanksgiving dinner. As the family gets older, it’s easy to lose touch with the relatives you were used to being close to. Tracking down a cousin you haven’t spoken to in years or an aunt and uncle who moved away will help remind you of how important family really is. And, just like with teachers, you will benefit from being able to connect as adults, with a fresh perspective and a new-found appreciation for the relationships that matter.
4. Your College Roommate
Whether you loved or hated each other, you and your first college roommate spent a hugely important moment in your lives together. It would be interesting to see if you both reached your goals and how life after school has treated you. Plus, if you were friendly with each other, you could find that old youthful bond returning. A former roomie is the perfect person to stay out till dawn with, especially now that you don’t have to get back to the dorm to study for finals. Just try not to be too competitive. Seeing how someone in a similar situation’s life turned out can make you appreciate your choices or learn to reassess them.
Living in a world where anybody you’ve ever met might be just a click away can mean a lot of things. Mostly, it lets you know that the world is pretty small, and that you don’t have to be afraid to reach out to somebody you haven’t talked to in a while. There are plenty of downsides to this new global community, but if you use it the right way, it really can bring people closer together.
Writer Christopher Shanks is an avid blogger. Want to find former acquaintances? Check out the services at free people search .org or freebackgroundcheck.org.