Calling all graduating seniors, current undergrads and upcoming freshman! Finally, this long semester filled with crappy weather is coming to an end. Finals are just around the corner, we are packing up the last 8 months of our lives and are ready to say goodbye to the 8 ams and hello to the beach. Between working, beach days and your friends from home – who really has time to think about the friends we’ve made at school. Stupid question, right?
Graduating Seniors:
I’m not even going to try to put myself in your shoes because there is no way that as a freshman I can understand what you’re going through. However, I do know that you are all going great places, but they may not be the same places as your absolute best friends. It definitely has to be devastating to say goodbye to the friends you’ve made over the last four years. From your long walks to frat row freshman year, Greek formals, dreadful finals, to bar hopping senior year – these girls are your partners in crime.
Current Undergrads:
Whether you’re a freshman, sophomore or junior, these are the years that you are supposed to make the friends that you will keep for the rest of your life, but what if you can’t even stay in touch over the summer? Without the time spent over late night cramming sessions, Wild Kitty, going out on the weekends or your Mei Wei dates, how are you supposed to maintain that close BFF relationship?
Upcoming Freshman:
Leaving your high school friends that you have been with since elementary school can be one of the scariest things you can think of, but it shouldn’t have to be. Your friends are probably going to different colleges than you and you may think it’s the end of the world, but I am here to tell you that it’ll be okay. You’re going to make plenty of new friends, while still being able to maintain your old friends with these tips!
1. Social Media
Okay, if you’re missing your best friend, the best way to stalk her life and be able to feel a part of it again is social media. Just by scrolling down through your news feed at night, you are able to see who they’ve been with or what they’ve been up to. Sounds creepy? Probably because it is, but that’s what social media is and when you think about it you’ve been doing it for years. It’s also great for keeping in touch through messaging or even TBT pictures of that one crazy night you had in college that neither of you really remember.
2. Your Cell Phone
Your cell is always going to be a great way to keep in touch with friends from home and/or school. Text/talk/tweet at your best friend daily, who says good morning/good night texts are just for your boyfriend? Send a quick text about how you just ran into that guy she is embarrassed about hooking up with or a silly Snapchat. I personally love the group text option. It’s the perfect way to share news with multiple people and it’s the next closest thing to your girl talk sessions in the dining hall.
3. Can you say road trip?
Whether its different home towns, different schools or they just moved half way across the country for their dream job, road trips are a great way to get together and do something fun. Not only is it an opportunity to travel, but you get to visit with your best friend. It can be switching off visiting each other at your new colleges or visiting your out-of-state friends over the summer. If you’re a graduating senior, you can go visit your best friend in her new city and check out her new boyfriend, job and experience her new life.
4. Plan a Vacation
That cruise to the Bahamas is not only for Spring break of senior year. Feel like you never see your friends anymore or at least not enough? Planning a vacation is a great and exciting way to bond over the details of the trip and then look forward to seeing each other. Not enough money to go tropical? Camping is always a fun way to get together with friends.
5. Emails
Have a lot to catch up on? An email is a great way to type out everything you’ve been dying to tell your best friend in a more sentimental way than a simple text!
6. Old Fashioned Phone Calls
This could potentially be the best way to keep in touch with your friends from home or from school. Have a night or two a week that you both plan on leaving at least an hour of free time for a nice phone call. Although she may not want to hear every detail about your new friends whom she’s never met, she will still love to hear about how hot your professor and/or boss is or about your new boyfriend. Pick something you both like to do and talk about that. It’ll remind you that even though you’re not physically in each other’s daily lives, there is still a reason you’re best friends.
It is not always going to be an easy task to keep in touch with friends you don’t see everyday, but it’s a very important part of maintaining that sacred best friend bond!