As my first year of college is coming to a close, I get more and more sad about the fact that I won't get to see my roommates every day. One lives an hour away and the other lives four hours away, and while we have plans to go on a road trip to see each other, we wanted to do something else to stay connected during the summer. So we came up with two ideas to stay in touch in a kind of spiritual, slightly nerdy, yet creative way. Whether your friends live hours away, or in your hometown (another roommate of mine is a friend from high school so we live two minutes from each other), these are both fun, creative ways to know that even though you aren't physically together, there are still ways to know you're thinking of each other.
The first idea we came up with was for each of us to create a Wreck This Journal of our own during the summer, then when the semester begins again, exchange them with each other so each person can fill out their own customized journal created uniquely for them by their friend.
So, during the summer, all you have to do is purchase a blank notebook and come up with prompts you think your friend would enjoy completing. Have them do the same for you, then exchange and complete during the school year. That way, you'll be able to fill your journals together. This works great for college roommates who aren't together during the summer, but will be living together again once school starts again. If you're in high school and you see your friends often it also works if you just purchase a Wreck This Journal from the store and complete it together, or exchange it back and forth to see what each of you have added to the journal.
The second idea is also a great idea to get your summer reading in (yay!). My roommates and I decided to start a book club with each other. We'll agree on a book we all want to read, read a few chapters every two weeks or so, then when the two weeks are up, we'll Skype and talk about what we read. I'm sure we might get off topic and talk about other things too, but that's okay because at least we'll have a set time during the summer to talk to each other. So if you like to read, or want to read more, this is a fantastic way to do so while also staying in touch with your friends.
