This is a collaboration article with Her Campus at Barnard.
Sometimes when you meet someone, you just know that you’re going to be friends. We’ve all experienced that gut feeling right? When Rachel and I met by the lockers on my first day of high school in junior year, we knew.
True friendship doesn’t die because the distance between you grows. No matter where you live from one another whether that is in a different state or country or going to different colleges or work, you will still remain the best of friends. It always finds new ways to evolve and grow. Nothing in our lives stays the same forever and when we are young there is a lot of change that we have to adapt to. We will find that friendships will come and go. I think anyone who goes to college or who has some kind of major life change whether that is moving to a new city or having a new full time job, will tell you that they soon discover who their true friends are and who their fake friends were.
Rachel is a true friend. Three years into college and we are still going strong! Luckily we have social media and the internet on our side, allowing us to easily communicate with one another and keep up-to-date, something the generations before us didn’t have the privilege of, and so for that, I am thankful. Thankful we can easily chat to one another and see what the other is up to. Even though she lives on the other side of the US to me, in New York City, the distance doesn’t feel that far.
You might be wondering who Rachel is? She is a junior at Barnard University in New York City where she is studying History. Rachel is Her Campus President for Barnard and a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. If you hang out with her, you will have tons of fun as she is vibrant, bright and guaranteed to make you laugh. Another thing about Rachel is she always offers thoughtful insight and is one of the best people to go to in a crisis. In high school, we would quite literally spend hours texting each other as she would teach me about the Myers Briggs Personalities and give me advice on how to navigate American high school.
Myself and Rachel
Sadly, we haven’t seen each other in nearly two years but this shows that friends don’t have to be physically with you to still be the best of friends. In fact, I think it could be argued that distance can make friendships stronger. You learn how to communicate with one another and appreciate spending time with each other when you talk. What’s more, three years deep into college and still doing long-distance friendship? You have a friend for life.
In high school, too many friendships are often fake. You say you love each other and can’t imagine not hanging out anymore. But a month after you graduated and walked out the gate for the last time, you might start wondering “when did I last hear from …..?” Either you lost touch with one another and need to communicate again or they were a fake friend. Take the opportunity in college to realize who your real friends are and what it means to have a true friend. What is your friendship based on? Is it having class with one another, having mutual friends or by trusting them with personal thoughts and information? Take a moment to think about what you value in friendship. Also, don’t be afraid to be picky with you decide to be friends with. Be brave and make decisions on make you the happiest because you will meet so many people during college and after!
On a personal note- Rachel, I am so proud of the woman you are growing to be. Since you have started college I have watched you grow to be a strong, confident and happy young woman achieving so many great things. One of the best parts of college is watching your friends grow and as your friend, it truly makes me happy to see you happy and loving life. Although I haven’t seen you in a while (please come visit Amy and I ASAP, we miss you!), it feels as if we were hanging out only last week by our lockers sharing our day with one another. I can’t wait to see what you do in the remainder of your college career and of course, watch the even bigger things I know you are going to do in your life. I’ll see you soon, I’m sure of it! Love you!
Me, Rachel and Amy on one of our last trips together before college started!
All Photos Courtesy of the Author