This is my best friend Kayla and me.
We have been best friends for about 18 years now. It is hard to give an exact date to that, as neither one of us ever remember a time when the other wasn’t in our life. We grew up next door to each other, and even when I moved in the 7th grade, we still never lived more than 5 minutes away from each other. So, when the two of us decided to go to colleges on opposite sides of the country from one another, me going to Kent State and her going to BYU in Utah, it was a very hard topic for either one of us to talk about. Leading up to high school graduation and even that summer after, we never talked much about what it was going to be like to live so far away from each other. When the day finally came that I was going to be leaving to move into college I was scared, sad and excited all at the same time. Not only was I going to be leaving my hometown and everything I had known for the past 18 years, but I was going to be leaving my best friend. We both cried a lot that day but made promises to keep in touch.
It was definitely difficult at first as we both settled into our new lives, but luckily since Kayla and I have known each other for so long, even when we go a while without talking, as soon as we do, it is like no time has passed. Frequent FaceTime calls and texts are great, but not getting to actually hang out with your best friend is definitely hard. One important thing that I have found through this is that when Kayla and I are both back in our hometown for breaks or over the summer, we use that time to hang out as much as we can. This past summer she came on a trip with my family to Italy, and it was the most amazing time ever. I know that when we are older, it will be a trip we will look back on and never forget.
It definitely isn’t easy being far away from your best friend, but as Lance Reynald said, “True friends stay with you no matter the distance or time that separates you from them.”