Most kids grew up with their best friends living on the same block, or at least in the same town. I didn't have that luxury, because my best friends live an hour and a half away from me. This might not seem to be really "long distance," per say. I know that there are people with friends on the opposite side of the country, or who live in different continents. But an hour and a half is still really far to be from the people you love and want to be with all of the time. My best friends, Katie and Lindsay, and my brother Owen and I, have been best friends since we were all born within the same couple of years.
(from left to right: Lindsay, Katie, me, and Owen)Sarah McAvoy
Of course, now, it seems like we are together all of the time just because we talk constantly. This is thanks to the convenience of texting, FaceTime, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. But as a kid with no cellphone or any of this social media ten years ago, it seemed like the end of the world! We would Skype once a week and E-MAIL each other. There is something pretty sad about a group of eight and nine year olds emailing each other "Hi I miss you" and "Tell your parents to call my parents so we can come over soon."
Believe it or not, we lived to tell the tale. Some of my favorite childhood memories are from our weekend visits with each other, since we were babies even to right now. I will never forget all of the times they came down to go to the beach with my family, celebrate the Fourth of July, New Year's Eve, my birthday and Owen's birthday, the times my family drove up to see them for family parties, concerts, and just being together whenever we all had the time.
Katie and I are college freshmen now, and Owen and Lindsay are high school seniors. This separation has made the adjustment to college life a bit easier on me, personally. I know what it is like to be a while from the people you love. Even though it would be amazing to grow up next door to my best friends in the world, it's okay that I did not. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder, so we have such a strong bond as friends. I would not trade these people for the world, and I cannot wait for us to continue to support each other on every step of our journeys.
