At some point in your life, some of the friends whose houses you could walk, bike or quickly drive over to will be gone. They will move away and continue their lives elsewhere. It is then that a mutual effort on both sides will decide whether you keep in contact or not.
After going away to college and coming back home for the summer, you get a lot of perspective and realize who matters and who does not. It is not because you intentionally want to cut some people out of your life, but everyone gets on with life and has to prioritize. It is not that you are forgotten, but with so many things going on at once, it is not easy to keep up. I will be the first one to admit my communication can be spotty and rough, but I still try my best.
This brings me to one of my closest friends, who happened to pack her bags and move across the country to call Arizona home. I figured keeping in contact may be hard, and seeing each other would be a rare occurrence, but thankfully I was wrong.
We talk every blue moon or so, but when we are talking to each other, it is like no time has ever passed. We still talk about the stories that will never fail to not keep us laughing or the craziness we dealt with. It is nice to hear about her new home and school and still know she decided to keep me in the loop as she embarks on a new chapter in her life.
I learned that if that person really wants to continue a friendship, they will make the effort worthwhile. Last summer, I was so excited that she came back “home” to New Jersey for a visit. Admittedly, I was secretly more excited to hold a sign at the airport saying, “Welcome home!” as she was walking out of the gate; I just always wanted to do that for some cliche chick flick movie reason.
This year and summer so far have been busy, but I have been meaning to get out to Arizona sometime soon. Just the other day I was telling my sister how I wanted to see my friend in Arizona when I had the chance. Funny things is, a few days later my sister got a message from my friend wanting to surprise me. I was so confused by this surprise since I knew she had a job back at home and was living in her college apartment. Nothing added up.
When I finally got to see her and talk to her, I asked what she was doing here. I found out she just got back to NJ and got a summer internship back in our hometown. I was beyond excited to find out because the coincidence of the whole situation was completely unexpected yet amazing!
It is funny how things work in life and how some of your closest friends find ways to remain in your life. No matter how unrealistic it may seem, if there is a will there is a way.
Also, bless up to no more Skype/FaceTime calls this summer!
