With finals season almost upon us, it seems nearly impossible to make time for friends, family, and fun. Even my friends from high school are busy, with everyone having conflicting schedules and breaks. They are our people, and yet it seems so hard to stay connected. However, as a sophomore that still remains in contact with her hometown friends, who I would consider some of my best friends, there are definitely some ways to make time for your hometown friends. Here are five strategies I’ve used to stay in touch with my hometown besties.
- FaceTime, facetime, facetime!
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One of the most important things you can do to stay in touch is to FaceTime with your hometown friends. I have become a big fan of the fifteen minute video call, even if it just explains something funny that happened or details what I saw on my walk to class. I truly love my hometown friends, and I think pressuring ourselves to have long FaceTimes each week isn’t always realistic, and may even hinder connection. Taking short FaceTimes each week or every couple weeks is great to see their faces, but there are other strategies I use, too.
- send Tiktoks
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While the app is undoubtedly addictive, sending TikToks back and forth to your shared group chat is a great way to connect and can even lead to new inside jokes. I have sent countless TikTok videos to my hometown friends since coming to college about college experiences, fashion, pop culture, or even funny skits. It almost is too easy to spam your friends with TikToks, so when you are doing your daily scroll and watch a video that reminds you of your hometown friends, send it their way. It may even make their day.
- Become Your friends go-to social media influencer
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You need to keep your hometown friends caught up on your lore and plot, so why not have a private Snap story or TikTok account dedicated to your daily happenings? This allows your hometown friends to swipe up on your story and gives you something to talk about over text or Facetime. I myself have a private story and TikTok that my hometown friends are on, and even when the story seems stupid, they swipe up, helping me connect with them even when we aren’t living twenty minutes away from each other.
- Text when you can
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It’s obvious that you need to text each other to stay in touch, but you don’t need to text every day or have novel-sized texts in your group chats to stay in touch. A simple “How are you?” always works and gets everyone talking. I try to check in once every couple of days, to see how they are doing. This allows me to stay in the loop and catch up with their lives, combating the loss of connection I sometimes see with high school friends once they are all in college.
- plan a fun trip (or three)
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This is by far my favorite way to keep in touch with hometown friends. Over your FaceTimes or group chats, you can coordinate plans or trips during breaks in your hometown or even somewhere new. I have loved doing this, whether it is a beach trip, a camping trip, or a local bookstore trip. This is a great way to get excited to see your hometown friends once again and have fun in your hometown, when it seems you have done anything and everything there.
Ultimately, friendships change and people grow apart. But if you truly feel that your hometown friends are your people (I’d like to think mine are), keeping in touch is essential. Now, a friendship shouldn’t be one-sided, so both people need to do the work to keep it alive. And it may not be easy, but I have found that when I do some of these things with my hometown friends, we grow closer together. Friendships are crucial for our mental health, so connecting with the people we love in any way we can is essential for enriching our lives. So, if you want to continue to grow in your relationships with your hometown friends, maybe integrate some of these tips into your daily life. I bet they’ll thank you for it.