It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of meeting a ton of new people at once that comes with starting college. And while you’ll meet people who you’ll become extremely close with right away, it’s always nice to have people you can talk to who already know all about you. Some of my closest friends are a year younger than me, and while I was starting a new chapter in life, they’re still in high school. It’s totally normal to miss the friends you leave behind— here’s why you should make an effort to keep in touch.
- They already know everything about you.
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While talking about yourself is always fun, it can also become tedious giving a long backstory to every story you tell to a new friend. It’s nice you have people you can talk to where you can say “Remember that time Sarah and I did this…” without having to explain to them who Sarah is.
- They’re looking to you for advice.
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It’s hard to forget the painstaking process of choosing a college senior year. You’ve been there, done that; whereas they’re still there, doing that. It’s fun to be able to explain how the process went when you went through it. At the very least, you can reassure them that it’ll all work out and they’ll love wherever they end up.
- Sleepovers are even better in a dorm.
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If you ignore the fact that twin beds are not very easy for two people to share, having friends visit your dorm is a super fun part of college. I’ve already had 3 friends stay for overnight visits, all of whom are high school seniors. Because my hometown is only 30 minutes away from BU, it’s much easier to coordinate an overnight stay with someone living at home rather than a friend several hours away at another college. I love being able to share a small piece of college life with my friends.
- You’ll never run out of things to talk about.
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When my friends finally came to visit, I hadn’t seen them in months. Sure, we’d texted some and kept up our snapstreaks, but there’s nothing like sitting down to dinner and just spilling everything that’s happened in the past few months. The right kind of friends just get you, and it’s so easy for us to just pick up from where we left off.
- The best kind of friends are forever.
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You can meet friends at any stage in life, and sometimes you just already know they’ll be a bridesmaid at your future wedding. Regardless of distance or time, with the right people, it’s easy and worth it to reconnect. Don’t let distance allow an incredible friendship to fizzle out.
Even if you’re too far from home for your friends to visit, it’s worth making an effort to reconnect over breaks, or even just over FaceTime. True friends are hard to find, and keeping in touch with the real ones is always worth it. (Shoutout to Michelle, Arielle, and Madi for visiting me— I love you guys!)
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