For sophomore Shelby Watts, Facebook has become much more than a social networking site. About a month ago, Watts and her mother began searching for a family she had never met- her dad and four siblings.

     When Watts was born in Fresno, her dad had other kids so her mom thought it would be best to move to Roseville so they could start their own life. She was first able to locate her oldest sister Ashton, 22, who she messaged through Facebook. After messaging back and forth a couple of times, they talked on the phone and her sister suggested Watts contact their dad, John Flores. The conversation went well and on December 4, Watts and her mom made the trip to Fresno, CA to finally meet her family.

     “I got to meet my four brothers and sisters and it was so amazing,” said Watts of the trip.

     Her brothers Johnny, 24, and Josh, 18, along with sisters Ashton and Alaura, 15, all gathered at her dad’s house in Fresno to meet her. According to Watts, she was a little nervous but mostly excited when she arrived at her dad’s home.

     “When I was eight I wanted to meet him, but he had a wife who didn’t want us to talk,” said Watts.

     Just about a month ago her dad divorced the woman who was against communication between the two, which Watts describes as a “blessing in disguise.”

     According to Ashton, the family also turned to Facebook as a tool to locate Watts who they, too, were eager to meet. After adding dozens of people named Shelby Watts on Facebook in hopes they would find their sister, they came up short. However, in the same month, Watts and her mom were more successful in the search, leading to the December 4 reunion.

     “Listening to my dad tell me he loved me and that we would be a family again was the best part of it all,” said Watts.

     For the first time in 15 years, Watts will be spending Christmas with her entire family back at her dad’s house. Since most of her extended family lives in the same town, she anticipates spending a lot of time there so she can get to know her family.

     “She just came to class elated to tell us she met her family, with tears in her eyes,” said Watts’ peer helping teacher Valerie Erb.

     Another exciting part of the trip for Watts was meeting her one year old niece that her sister Ashton had named after her. Also excited to meet her were her grandparents on her dad’s side who also live in town.

     “We were already going to Fresno to visit my mom’s parents, so it was great that we were able to see all of them,” said Watts.            

     She spent the day talking and getting caught up with her family, and describes the relationships as an instant connection. For Watts, minutes turned into hours as they talked about their lives, watched movies and made plans for future visits.

     Watts feels fortunate to have her second period peer helping class to talk about the reunion with and they were all very supportive and happy for her.

     “We are all very blessed to see her blessed in this way,” said Erb. “We are all like a family in here.”