I’ve never been so happy to get a Facebook friend request in my life.

You’d think something so ordinary wouldn’t elicit more than a smile or maybe a grin if you really liked the person. But I leapt out of my chair when I saw it, grinning and squealing. It was the perfect ending to a challenging day.

Everything had been going great. Convo food didn’t suck, I found yummy-looking pineapple at the grocery store and my brand new cell phone was actually working (unlike my old phone, but that’s another column for another day).

And then, I lost my keys. All of them.

I couldn’t go to work; I couldn’t go home to my apartment; I couldn’t go anywhere at all without that magical piece of plastic with the atrocious photo from freshman year.

So, lost and homeless, I spent more than an hour retracing my steps on campus and off. My mood was quickly deteriorating, and the only reason I remained sane at all was the calming words of my boyfriend, the first hero of the day, who kindly retraced every step with me.

“You are not an idiot!” he repeated every time I started scolding myself again.

But yes, actually, I am, because I lost a lanyard containing my key to life.

In the end, we gave up, and I had to borrow a key from my roommate – my second hero of the day, who rescued me from my keyless wanderings – just to put my groceries away.

Hours later, after placing numerous phone calls and checking more random places yet still finding no news of my keys, I began to fear I was doomed.

Yes, doomed. Think I’m overreacting? Remember, this is the school where they started charging for the formerly free popcorn last year. I could only imagine what it would cost to replace a lock and all four keys. And I really didn’t think I could spare another kidney.

I was beginning to resign myself to the fact that I would never see my keys again. And that I might have to live in the Collegian office for the rest of my life. And that I would owe the school my first child.

(Note: I did talk to Safety Services later, and I did learn that the fee for losing a key is only $25, not half your tuition.)

Running out of options, I decided to do what every good college kid does and dodge real life with Facebook.

Lo and behold, I had a friend request, and the attached message read: “I…found your keys in the snow when I was walking in the building…you can come pick them up whenever!”

I don’t remember the last time I was that excited. I’m pretty sure it involved a movie premiere and some vampires.

At any rate, I was grinning like a giddy little girl and could scarcely keep from skipping all the way back to my apartment building.

I would be remiss if I didn’t finish with a big “thank you” to my third and most noteworthy hero of the day, Jessica Ina, who saved my abandoned lanyard from the snow while simultaneously saving me from my own scatterbrained tendencies.

Now if only I could find my cell phone…