I get it, making friends in college is hard enough. With all the homework assignments, exams, jobs, and differing schedules, it can get really difficult to hang out with friends during the semester. Nonetheless, you are still able to see those people sometime during your day, whether you dorm together, have a class together, or even run into each other in the dining hall.
But what happens when everyone goes home for winter break? To be honest, I have no idea. This will be my first winter break at Manhattan College, and to be completely transparent, I have no plans besides sleeping in and eating an excessive amount of holiday desserts. However, I do know one thing, and that is how to stay in touch with your friends. So, whether you want to stay in touch with your hometown friends or college friends, here are five ways to do so.
- Texting! I know, pretty obvious. But, I am sure a lot of us are guilty of putting off texting someone, especially if we only see this person at school and rarely text them. However, when it comes down to it, you may not be seeing this person in the spring semester as often as usual, and that is why texting is such a great way to keep in touch and maintain your friendship. During the holiday season you can wish your friends happy holidays, and perhaps even make a larger group chat with friends from college to keep updating each other on your break activities.
- Facetime! Yup, that’s right, another obvious one. But seriously, we are all on our phones anyway so who is stopping us from pressing a couple of buttons and talking to a friend? You can quickly call to tell them about something you did over break. You would be surprised how fun the conversation can be, and how much closer you will be when you finally get back from break!
- Ask to hang out. This one can be tricky, especially if your friends all live in different places, some being very far from each other. Even if that is true, it can’t hurt to ask. Maybe you can all make a trip out of it too! If you cannot hang out in person, then try doing a themed Zoom night. For example, you can do a PowerPoint night, where each person makes a PowerPoint slide presentation on something they find interesting, and then presents them over Zoom. It is a really fun way to hang out with your friends without being together in person.
- Social Media. Make sure to ask all of your friends for their Instagrams/Snapchat before you all leave for the break! Although it may seem silly, a lot of people will be posting things they do over break on these platforms, so it is a great way to see what your friends are up to without directly asking them. And of course, we all have social media anyway, so why not use it to stay connected with our friends?
- Write Letters/ Send gifts. Winter Break means the holidays are just around the corner! Unfortunately, that means that we are not all able to celebrate the holidays with our friends from school. What I recommend, however, is writing your friends Christmas cards, sort of like postcards but for wishing your friends a happy holiday as well. Also, if you and your friends want to do a Secret Santa but can’t do so before the break begins, you can order a gift for them and have it shipped to that person’s address.
Overall, we all have the tools to stay in touch with our long-distance friends, but it is all about how we use them. Of course most of these tips you have already thought of, but it’s all about putting in the effort. For instance, before you begin to mindlessly scroll through TikTok, try texting a friend to see how they are doing first. Also, if you feel that it is awkward texting a friend you have never texted before, trust me, it isn’t. If that person wants to be your friend, then they are probably thinking about texting you as well. So break that barrier, send a text, and maintain the friendships that you made in college. Friends are important, so even though winter break is a time to focus on oneself and one’s family, don’t forget about your friends!