Who can you always share your ups and downs with? Your besties. Your best friends from home are the people that you have grown up with and who know everything about you. They were with you on the playground at recess and took pictures with you at senior prom. They have always been there for you, and vice versa.
Going away to college is an emotional time for everyone. Suddenly, you leave the hometown you were raised in to live without your parents and say goodbye to all of your best friends. If you’re lucky, your friends won’t be too far away, but you might not be close at all. What happens when you all inevitably begin to drift apart from one another?
Growing apart from friends is something everyone experiences at some point in their life. It’s just a natural thing, especially during college years. You’re embarking on a new journey in your life, and so are all of your close friends. You’ll notice yourself texting them less and less throughout the quarter. What happens when you wake up one day and realize that you have no idea what is going on in their lives?
This is something I personally experienced when I came to Davis. Back home, I have a tight-knit group of girl friends, but it struck me when I hadn’t really talked to any of them since they left for school back in August. Sure, we Snapchatted, but even that became less frequent. Did they feel the same way, or was it just me? I no longer saw these girls every day at school, and it made me worry that our friendships were fizzling out.
It can be difficult to stay updated on all of your friends’ lives when you have your own busy life at college. People change during these years. You begin to figure out who you are as an individual, and what really matters to you in the grand scheme of life. A friendship may end because the two of you have simply grown as people, and you no longer have as many things in common. That’s just how life is.
Set up Facetime dates biweekly with friends from home or make sure you text them the next time something special happens to you. I’m sure they will appreciate your reaching out to them. One of my best friends and I send each other long elaborate emails updating one another when we can. It’s fun doing it in a letter (stamp and everything) as well! Don’t you love receiving actual mail from someone important in your life?
Long distance friendships are of course more difficult to maintain, but these are the people that have known you since your awkward junior high days (or earlier) and they will always care about you. I know that as soon as I’m reunited with my besties back in my hometown, it feels as if no time has passed, and I’m sure it will be the same with you. Should the friendship fade away, remember new friends will fill the gap.
After college, you may end up living near your old friends from home, and thus get the chance to regain those relationships, which are constantly are evolving in your life. Just go with the flow and make the most of it. Although some people may fade away, new lifelong friendships made at Davis are just the beginning of a new chapter in your life.
Cover Image Source: Unsplash, Ben White