Friends
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A little chat I had reminded me how much Steins;Gate has inspired
me. I first learned of it because of the anime, much like almost
everyone else. I didn't manage to watch all the episodes live, but
right before the last episode aired I watched all 20-something
episodes that were out at the moment (2011) and enjoyed the finale
with everyone else. It was great! Then I read the visual novel as
soon as the fan translation was out.

A certain part of the story tells you one of the reasons why Okabe
started his Future Gadget Lab: because he wanted a group of friends.
That's, in my opinion (so it's a fact), one of the most important
messages of Steins;Gate and it affected me deeply. As I browsed the
net and joined and formed chatgroups, Okabe's sentiment was always
on the back of my mind. I wish I had a circle like the one Okabe
built. These days I have a stable little chatgroup and really care
about them. However, I met them a long time ago and I think I forgot
how to meet people online. Back then the net was smaller and cozier;
is it still easy to connect with others? Can you still go and chat
with randoms online and have something that could be called
*friendship*?

Maybe you're wondering why I focus on the internet when surely you
can still meet people IRL and have a group like Okabe's. Well, I must
admit that I'm rather shy and I've always found it very difficult to make friends. Now that I'm older and I've gone through university and
worked for a few years, it's evident to me that the dream is pretty
much dead. At uni I met very cool people and had what I could call a
group of friends, but we all went our separate ways afterwards. At
work we're all there just to earn money, and competition kills all
friendship and love.

The reality is that I've had the most profound and fulfiling
conversations online, not IRL, and for that reason I'll always
appreciate everyone who's ever crossed paths with me in chatrooms,
even if I'll never get to hug them. They're real to me, after all.