I have known my best friend since I was 6 years old. Ever since we became friends in the second grade, we have been absolutely inseparable. Everything that is mine is also hers, and everything that is hers is mine. Our parents don't even flinch when they come home and see one of us lounging on their couch, even if we didn't tell them we were coming over. When I was 12 I moved from North Carolina to Florida, and had to leave my best friend behind. But, after all the fears that came with moving three states away from her, our friendship ended up becoming stronger while apart. After five whole years of having a long distance best friend, I have learned a lot of things about this type of friendship.
1. You may end up not talking every day.
As much as this seems strange and some may say it is not true, you may not talk to your best friend every day when one of you moves away. When you move, you inevitably build your own life wherever you are. You will have new activities, daily life issues, and new friends that will fill your time, and that is completely normal. This is not to say you and your best friend will grow apart, because your relationship will probably become even stronger. Even when I don't talk to my best friend for a week or two at a time, we are always able to pick up right where we left off.
2. Visiting each other becomes your favorite "holiday".
The few days of the year that you see your best friend will become your favorite days of the year. There are times when I see my best friend every other month, and there are times when I have to go a whole year without a visit. Especially after not seeing each other for so long, every day together is meaningful.
3. The first day you see your best friend will be spent filling them in on your life.
Because you may not talk every day, and your best friend is no longer with you all the time, they have probably missed out on a lot. The first day you see them again will be filled with stories and pictures and laughs. Whenever I see my best friend again, we always look at the each other's phones and scroll through pictures to see what we have missed.
4. When you're having trouble with friends at home, you always have someone to talk to about it.
Don't get me wrong, I love my friends at home, but every group of friends has their own problems and little fights. When you have a long-distance best friend, you always have someone to talk to that doesn't even know all of your friends that well. And your best friend knows you as well as you know yourself, meaning they can always give you the best advice.
5. You have a second family.
While you may think that you were extremely close to your best friend's family before one of you moved away, after the move you will become even closer. I spent a lot of time at my best friend's house before I moved to Florida, but now that we spend weeks at a time at each other's homes, we are truly part of each other's families. Spending 24 hours a day at someone's house for a week or more could seem like a lot, but when it feels like your own home, it is completely normal.
6. During visits, you don't mind doing seemingly boring thing with them.
When I see my best friend, even boring errands become more fun. Having your best friend as part of your daily routine again, even if it is just for a few days, is precious. My best friend and I don't need to be constantly entertained to have fun together. We enjoy each other's company even if we are just laying in bed looking at our phones.
7. Even if you have never met their friends/significant other, you probably know everything about them.
My best friend has only met my boyfriend once, but she still knows everything about him. Our friends and boyfriends know that our best friend's opinion will always be the most important to us and have to be okay with that.
8. You would drop everything to hang out with them, even for just a day.
When you only see your best friend every once in a while, the chance to be with them becomes so special. That means that even if you have to drop everything (homework, other plans, etc.), you always will.
9. Their roommate in college must be OK with having a third roommate.
Even though I'm still in high school, my best friend is going to college this year. She hasn't even moved in yet and we are already planning on when I am going to come to visit. This means that her roommate has to be okay with me crashing their room way too often.
10. You will have a sister for life.
No matter how far apart my best friend and I are, we will always be as close as ever. She is not only my best friend, but she is also my sister, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
