Think about who you consider to be your very best friends. Now put one of those best friends each in New York, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, and California. How can such a close-knit group of people survive being spread out around the country?

Last year, I did an internship at Walt Disney World for seven months. There I met an outstanding group of people who changed my life and allowed me to feel comfortable about being myself. We spent every day working together, and after work, we would plan what we wanted to do each night, which usually consisted of going to Magic Kingdom or watching movies at our "headquarters," AKA, the apartment complex where the majority of us lived. But once the internship was over, we all had to separate and go back to the lives we had left behind while abandoning a new one we felt we had only just begun.

So, after sitting around feeling sad and eating more Ben & Jerry's than I care to admit, I eventually came to terms with the fact that my best friends and I were no longer just a short walk to another apartment complex away.

But, over the past year we have managed to make the most of our situation, and here's how:

The Group Text. Some people love them, some people hate them. Depending on which one I'm in, I usually love them. This particular group of friends and I are extremely over-dramatic and sassy with each other, so it never feels like anything has changed between us. At times, it feels like they have become virtual friends, but you learn to work with the options you have, and luckily we have all this technology to stay in contact with each other. The group text definitely keeps us thriving when one of us is having a rough day.

Traveling. One benefit to having long distance best friends means that you get to go on trips probably more often than normal. Planning trips with these friends is like having a second Christmas, I count down the days and can't ever sleep the night before. Having friends from all over means you get to see a glimpse of what their life at home is like, or see new places together. Not to mention, more opportunities to post on Instagram and you have a free place to crash whenever you're in town.

Skype Dates. Remember in "Christmas with the Kranks" when Blair calls home from the airport and Jamie Lee Curtis' character runs to the phone screaming because she's so excited to talk to her? That's me when one of these friends call. Basically, this is the best group outing you don't ever have to leave the house or put on real pants for.

In all honesty, being far away from your best friends is awful. There are several days where I just really need one of these friends, and a phone call just doesn't do it justice. There are also several days when I say an inside joke and forget that they aren't here, and I internally cry a little bit. But you learn to deal with it and you realize that the people you might want to be surrounded with are not always going to physically be right there next to you, and that's a part of growing up. In those moments, you figure out how to be independent. That doesn't mean that you won't need those friends to help you out sometimes, but you take what those people have taught you and apply it to situations you have to deal with on your own. And that's what you should truly thank those friends for.