Throughout my sophomore, junior, and senior year I was best friends with a girl who was in college for that entire duration. As time went on, I learned the struggles and best parts of being in that type of situation. As I enter my freshman year of college, I now have new amazing people in my life and I am now the "older friend heading off to college". My current best friend will still be studying her little heart out in high school about 2 hours south and I want to share some of my best tips and words of advice for those going through similar situations!

1. Never make your high school friend feel replaced. You wouldn't be who you are and where you are today if it weren't for their support as you got older.

2. Give each other some credit for sticking around especially when dealt with a large amount of physical distance between you two. They could have left you!

3. Don't purposely brag about your life there as if it was better than the life they gave you back home. Every aspect of your life leading up to where you are now still matters!

4. My favorite times were when I got to visit my college friend, it gave me insight of college life and what I expected out of a campus.

5. Don't drunk text your high school friend. It may be funny here and there but it gets annoying, and we all know they aren't given that opportunity at home!

6. Make time for them when you come home, even if it's a 20 minute crafting session or a quick coffee date. Every second counts, especially when seeing each other is so rare!

7. Introduce them to your new college friends. It will be good for them to make new friends and your college friends might like seeing a piece of your home.

8. You will miss each other. Set up a weekly time for phone calls or just to have a solid conversation over text. It helps the connection!

9. Your college friend will definitely miss out on a lot of your high school experiences. Basketball games and football games will be hard to replace while at college so include them once or twice! It will be fun for you both!

10. Surprises are the BEST! Surprise one another every now and then, it keeps things exciting and those are memories you guys will always hold on to! It shows you care, even if it's something small!

11. Always care about what your friend is going through.

12. Support them. Both of you will have triumphs and heartaches, be present for both scenarios. It will mean the world to them!

13. Understand that it gets hard for you both, but distance does not define your friendship. Effort does.