When I was deciding on where to attend college, I didn't really care about distance. My main priority was the school and for me, the only important component regarding location was whether there were places nearby that I could walk to if I wanted a taste of real food. However, upon entering college, I quickly realized how much effort goes into keeping a friendship alive when you and your best friend are separated by distance. I thought I would be able to keep every part of our friendship the same, but that is almost impossible. But there are ways to keep a friendship alive despite distance and different daily schedules.
The biggest problem I faced with distance was having different schedules and people in my life. College life is very different from life at home -- you have a different group of friends in each place. I think it's important to tell your friends at home about the people at school. Don't say "My friend", say their name. Show them a picture of that person. Tell them the stories they tell you. This makes your friend at home more familiar with the people you hang out with at school and makes them feel less excluded when you rave about how much you like being around your college friends. In return, you should also care about your friend's friends. Care about their work-friends, their college friends, and their family friends. You'll never feel disconnected if you're kept up to date on each other's social lives.
It's almost important to keep your friend in your life. Don't look at your phone, think to yourself, "I haven't texted them in a few days." and do nothing about it. You don't have to have a deep conversation every day -- you can text your friend about something that irritated you, or about a cute dog you just saw. When you stop texting your friend, you might feel guilty and scared to text them, or you might think to yourself, "They haven't texted me either. It's a two-way street." Friendship may be a two-way street, but it is not a give-and-take kind of situation where you keep track of who did what. Friendship is giving all the love and support you can to the people you care about without expecting anything in return. So text them because drifting apart is a lot easier than you'd expect it to be.
Truthfully, I don't think friendships have to drastically change even when distance pulls you apart from each other. The heart of a friendship can stay the same. You just learn to communicate efficiently through texting, calling, video chatting, etc. In addition, you come to appreciate the time you spend together in person when you can. I myself love the last-minute hangout sessions I have with my best friend when I come home. I love the late-night drives to get ice cream (and ending up getting meals and desserts) and the times we just want to sit on the same couch while playing The Sims 4 separately. Distance can break up friendships, but it doesn't have to. Just remember to include your long-distance friend in both your home-life and your college-life.
