November is a month centered around being thankful, and when I look at my life one of the things I'm most thankful for are my long-distance friendships. Hours, states, and (soon-to-be) countries away, I have people who are just as important in my life as they were when we lived in the same town. Going to college causes some friendships to come to an end, but the friendships I'm talking about are the ones that have only become stronger. That saying, "distance makes the heart grow fonder,"? Totally true.
When it finally dawned on me that the people I once spent every day with would be living somewhere else, that they would be spending their days with new people, it should have scared me. Instead, I was so confident in the bonds I had created with these people that I was excited; I was excited for them to go out into the world and experience new things for the first time. Even more so I think I was excited for the days we would reunite and I would hear all about it. You see, I'm lucky enough to know that even if the people I care about most are more than a quick drive away, I'm nowhere close to losing the relationship we've created over the years.
Now, naturally I experienced the inevitable post-high school fallout with some people; there are friendly faces that I had become accustomed to seeing every day that I now only see on my Facebook feed. But when I look at the people who have remained close to me, Ashlee in Oregon, Gloria in New York, Caroline in Arkansas, and Sarah in Kentucky, just to name a few, I'm astounded by the closeness I still feel towards them. From hundreds of miles away we're there to cheer each other on for every high and console one another during each low.
Maybe this is rare, but I can't make myself believe that; I think that we overlook it. I think that we're so used to having these people around that we don't realize how lucky we are to have so many incredible people who have stuck it out. So take this as a reality check and remind those people how much they mean to you. In a season where we are reminded to be thankful for so much, don't forget to be thankful for the things we might overlook.
