When you go off to college, one of the more difficult obstacles to get past is the distance. Once you graduate high school, I think what most people find upsetting is the distance that’s just dropped in between them and their close friends. You go off to different colleges and it becomes harder to communicate with each other every day like you used to. Growing up with each other and then suddenly coming to the realization that life is leading you both down two completely different paths can be a bit of a shock. Being in two different cities can be rough to get used to and even more so living in two different states — but what about living in two different countries?
One of my best friends is currently living about 6,892.3 miles away from home, attending school at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea. It’s definitely a jump from New Jersey and it may seem a bit random to some, but this has been a dream of hers for awhile now. For this very reason, I couldn’t be happier for her. I know how much it meant to her to be able to go to school out of the country and she’s having so many amazing experiences over there. I really think she would’ve been unhappy going anywhere else. At the same time, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss her.
Some days are harder than others. When I’ve had a rough day in the past, I could always count on her to say some corny joke or tell me a really funny story to cheer me up. Now at the end of those days, I find myself wishing she were here but knowing that she can’t be.
The distance is harder than what I have to go through with my other friends. Most of them are an hour away by car, the farthest being around two hours. It’s never presented itself as being an issue seeing the rest of my friends. They’ve come home for fall, winter and spring breaks. I’ve gotten to catch up with them in person and see them gradually change the way they dress and style their hair. I wish it were like that with her, but I haven’t seen her since she left in August and I’m not going to see her again until she comes back home on June 30.
Time zones especially pose an issue. Being 14 hours ahead of me, I often find that I’m getting up as she’s going to bed and vice versa. So a text I send her in the morning won’t even get a response until I’m fast asleep. The conversations may be choppy, but they’re still there. Losing connection during phone calls is a common occurrence as well. It can be a little annoying at times, but sometimes you just have to take what you can get.
Being in a long distance friendship has its ups and downs. It’s frustrating and not the easiest thing in the world to manage, but we always find a way to make it work. I miss her every day and I don’t get to see her as often as I used to. On the bright side, though, I can always look forward to the random texts I wake up to and the day we’ll finally be able to catch up when she can tell me all about her crazy Korean adventures. Until then, I’ll just have to go on some adventures of my own here in America to tell her about. I love you, chingu!
