There is something pure and timeless about the friendships we form in childhood. Before we get saddled down with the expectations placed on us by society, our parents, our spouses, and our careers, we were just happy to play in the sandpit or swing on the monkey bars with our closest confidants.
How old will you be on your next birthday?
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Birthdays are a time for celebration, but as you get older, they also become a chance for reflection. So many of us still feel like children inside, even as our autumn years creep upon us.
A lot has changed since the monkey bar years. Even graduating from elementary school to middle school to high school to college can mean that we change friendship circles, schools, and sometimes even towns. Over the years, we can lose touch with the people that knew us as we were when we were little.
And after college, life really got uprooted. Over the years, maybe you got married, moved homes, and watched your kids grow up. They went away to college or settled down elsewhere.
And now, big career ambitions no longer seem as important to you as valuing the people around you and those you’ve met in the past.
Do you ever wonder what became of your first group of friends? How about the kids you hung out with in elementary school? Did you have a pack of blood brothers in high school that you lost touch with once you all split up for college?
It’s mind-boggling to think how those years have passed without them — but time seemed so much slower when you were a child, didn’t it?
But thanks to technology, it’s never too late to reach out to the people you knew back in the day. Even if you haven’t seen them for fifty years, — you can still reach out to your old friends.
Seriously.
How To Find Old Friends
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Using a social network, like Facebook, is one of the best ways to find and contact old friends. Start off by making a list to help jog your memory. Some things to ask yourself is:
- What was their full name, and middle name if you remember it?
- Where did they live?
- Did they move to another city or state?
- Do you remember their parent’s names?
- Do you remember any other details that might help you find them?
Start off by searching for their name on Facebook, and then look for the results. This might be tricky if they have a common name. In this case, try searching for one of their relatives who might be able to help you get back in touch with your old pal.
What To Do When You Can’t Find An Old Friend?
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When you were a child, the world felt a lot smaller. You cared about spending time with your friends, navigating through your grade school years, and taking each day as it came.
That’s why it can be so magical to reconnect with your friends after years apart.
But your social media search hasn’t turned up anything on your old pal. Perhaps they don’t have a Facebook profile, or maybe they are using a married name or alias now. If you can’t find anything on social media, through a mutual acquaintance, or by using a good old fashioned Google search, it might be time to try a public records search.
People can change their name, town, and friendship circles, but public records are basically like someone’s permanent record at school. Public records exist in the state, county, and federal databases and can’t easily be removed. Even if someone changed their name, got married, or moved to another state, you’d still have a good chance of finding them through public records if you can remember their full name and the last city where they lived.
If you don’t remember their last name, do you remember their old address or phone number? You could do a Reverse Phone Lookup or Reverse Address Lookup to try and identify their full name.
This is where Instant Checkmate comes in. When you search for a person’s first name, last name, and last-known location, you can pull their background report from an extensive public records database. This report includes real details like their phone number, email address, location history, aliases, and more.
Instant Checkmate reports can even help you learn more about your old friends before you meet up in person. People use this website to find their friend’s social media profiles and personal links, which can reveal fun new interests and hobbies. Background reports include possible relatives and associates, and you might be surprised to discover who you have in common!
Instant Checkmate can reveal the darker side of your friend’s past, too. Remember your best buddy in elementary school? You fell out of touch over the years — but you would never expect that they would end up in jail. Their Instant Checkmate report might reveal a long series of criminal records that can include DUIs, misdemeanors, and prior arrests.
You don’t have to wonder. When you meet with friends from your past, you can see how you’ve grown as a person, and that can make your search worthwhile.
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A Better Way To Find Childhood Buddies
Instant Checkmate members have access to unlimited background reports, which means you can look up as many friends as you want. And if you’re having trouble tracking them down, you can easily search by phone number, email address, or home address.
Since 2015, people have used this site to stay safe when speaking with strangers online, learn more about their neighbors and coworkers, and reconnect with long-lost loved ones. Who knows what you might find?
With all that information at your fingertips, you can see what your school buddies have been up to in the years since you drifted apart — and decide for yourself whether to get in touch.
It could be the (new) beginning of a beautiful friendship!
