College is an exciting time no doubt, but moving away from friends and family that you’ve grown up with is a challenging transition. It’s a brand new experience in a completely foreign place, and for a lot of incoming college freshmen, this is the first time they’ve been away from home for an extended period of time. Although making connections with new friends and acquaintances is essential, it’s also comforting to stay in touch with your hometown friends.
College life can be overwhelming and extremely busy, so it’s important to find a way to stay connected with those you love at home and at different colleges.
How can you keep in touch with these hometown friends?
- Be mindful of each other’s schedules and responsibilities
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It’s important to keep in mind that high school is largely different from college; you’ll notice you have much more free time in college than the past, so you and your friends will most likely have different class schedules. Your lifestyle will change, which means that your open slots to talk might clash with your friends’. It’s important to have a conversation with your friends about staying open and communicative about when you are able to devote your attention to them in order to prevent misunderstandings.
- Facetime
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Our generation is lucky to have such connective technology at our disposal. Although writing letters can be fun and intriguing, face to face contact through your mobile devices is something that you should take advantage of. Designate a day and time of the week to Facetime your friends. So many events can happen in the span of a college week, so calling your friends regularly will allow you to update them on your life, as well as stay updated on theirs. This could save you from a chaotic encounter when you come home for break where you and all of your friends have to catch each other up on an entire semester’s worth of happenings.
- Check in
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With all of the events and new people on your college campus, it’s easy to isolate yourself.” If you start to notice a friend distancing themselves, let them have their space. However, it’s important to check in every once in a while with friends who haven’t been as communicative. A simple text asking how their classes are going can help you stay bonded and could potentially spark a larger conversation.
- Meet up on breaks
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This one may seem obvious, but it can be easy to spend all of your break time relaxing in your room and catching up on sleep. While recharging is crucial, in person time with your hometown friends is now limited, so it’s important that you designate time to meet up with these friends when you are all home. Even though breaks can be very family-oriented, especially during the holiday season,, making time for your home friends will allow you to sustain your friendships for years to come.