As someone who chose to go to a college 1,000 miles away, one of the main struggles I’ve encountered is keeping in touch with my friends back home. Especially after an entire summer of being around them constantly, leaving again for the fall semester has been difficult. It’s sad knowing that I won’t be able to see them in person for the next few months. On top of that, with all of us taking classes, it can be challenging to find the time to talk. Thankfully, we’ve been successful at finding a few easy ways to alleviate this time away from each other. So if you’re like me and also find yourself being an out-of-state student worried about losing touch with your friends, here are a few things you can try:
Share Schedules
One of the first things I would suggest doing with your friend group is to share your class and work schedules with each other. This way, everyone can see what times people are free and you can avoid constant messages of “When are you free to chat?” or “What time is your class today?”. In my friend group, we even created a Discord channel containing everyone’s schedules which we can refer back to anytime. Speaking of Discord…
Create a Discord Server
If you haven’t heard of Discord, it’s an instant messaging app similar to Snapchat. However, with Discord, you have the added benefit of creating “servers” with your friends (basically fancy group chats). In Discord servers, you can create channels for different purposes. Like I mentioned before, one of the channels in my friend group’s server contains our schedules. Another channel is used for sharing memes and funny videos. Arguably the main benefit of Discord, though, is the ability to have video and voice channels. Unlike calling, anyone on the server can hop on the voice channel at any time. Personally, I find this method way less intimidating than calling my friends directly. It’s also a great platform to do game nights or stream movies together!
Plan a Game Night
Game nights are my absolute favorite way to keep in contact with my friends. Even though planning a game night can be challenging when dealing with busy schedules, they can serve as a welcome break from homework or studying. Here are a few affordable (or in some cases free!) multiplayer games that don’t require an intense gaming setup to play:
- PICO PARK (only $5 on Steam)
- Jackbox Games
- Gartic Phone (free)
- Phasmophobia
- Skribbl (free)
- Destiny 2 (base game free)
- off-brand Cards Against Humanity (free, but can be buggy sometimes)
Combine Spotify Playlists
Spotify has several methods for creating and sharing playlists with friends. And I personally love listening to the playlists I’ve created with my friends, as they act as a friendly reminder of them. On mobile devices, you can choose to “blend” a playlist with you and another friend. Here is a link on how to do so if you find yourself struggling.
Exchange Addresses and Send Little Gifts
Sending each other gifts is a new idea that I will be testing out with my friends this semester. As soon as we settled in our respective schools, we exchanged our new addresses so that we can do little gift exchanges over the next few months. For our first exchange, we plan to send each other washi tape with surprise designs!
Going to college far away doesn’t have to mean breaking up with your friends back home. Especially nowadays, with so much technology at our fingertips, it’s easier than ever to stay in contact over long distances! Hopefully at least one of these ideas serves as inspiration for a fun way for you and your friend group to spice up your interactions this semester!