At the age of 10, while growing up in Seattle, I made one of the best decisions of my life. With my parent’s encouragement, I signed up for a month-long overnight summer camp in Minnesota. When I arrived I knew no one, but 30 days later I left with several new close friends. Year after year, I returned to that camp and continued to have an amazing time with those summer friends.
That first year, I met a talkative girl named Amelia who was from Iowa. We got along great, but since we did not yet have phones, we did not keep in touch during the school year.
Everything changed two years later when I got my first phone. One day in May before our camp session began, we FaceTimed for three hours: talking about school, remembering previous years at camp and sharing our excitement about returning to Minnesota that summer.
Almost every day for the past seven years, we have been in constant communication. Whether it be FaceTime, calling, texting or writing letters, we have always found ways to keep in touch.
Now that we are in college, Amelia and I are still far away from each other. I have also moved across the country from all of my high school friends. These friendships continue to mean a lot to me, so I have found ways to stay in contact.
Here are my favorite ways of keeping in touch with my long distance friends:
- Text Regularly
Texting is probably the easiest way to keep in touch. This can be as simple as a check-in or sharing a funny story. I am constantly talking to my friends about random things throughout the day. It is a little harder to get into detail on text, though, which can limit the depth of connection.
- FaceTime or Phone Calls
Talking on the phone is a great way to reach out and really check-in on each other. Whether it be a quick chat on the way to class or an hour-long FaceTime call, I find that this is the best way to connect with my friends. On these calls, we reminisce about our past adventures, talk about what is happening in our lives now or plan what we will do the next time we hang out. It’s also really nice to hear each other’s voices and see each other’s faces.
- Unconventional Ways
I also love changing up our forms of communication from time to time. Sometimes my friends and I send each other old-fashioned handwritten letters. It is so exciting to open the mail to find a surprise letter from a friend and to know that they took the time to write to me. Letter writing takes a different level of focus and is more permanent than a quick text.
Additionally, I think finding fun apps is great. Lately, my friends and I have been enjoying Airbuds. We can see each other’s Spotify listening history and send reactions to songs. We also enjoy a classic Game Pigeon text game such as 8 ball, basketball or archery. Finally, online games like Hay Day, Finch and Photo Roulette can be fun ways to connect and interact.
Long distance friendships can ebb and flow. Things can come up that make it hard to stay in touch. But a simple form of reaching out can take you right back to the time when you were very close. Most importantly, being forgiving, patient and meeting people where they are at is vital to maintaining these meaningful, often lifelong relationships. It only takes a little bit of thought and work to keep these friendships going. Plus, reaching out might just make someone’s day.