How can i speak to my old friends?

ok, when i was a kid, i had a group of friends who were like siblings too me, i still think of them as the best friends i ever had, but when i was eleven due to my mother being ill i had to move away but never had the chance to say goodbye, i recently added one of them on facebook but i can't pluck up the courage to speak to them, i am now 18, and they seem to be the same old guys i remember who were rebels, and i still think i'm the same, how can i gouge up the cahones to talk to them after all this time?