What is it about our friends that complete us? Is it that they balance us, or are they an extension of us? Whatever it is, friends are such an integral part of who we are, and their friendship means the same whether they’re nearby or far away. Sometimes our best friends are the ones that are actually the farthest away from us location wise, but the closest to us in the heart.
Here's the things about having a best friend who lives far away--distance makes the heart grow fonder. They may be thousands of miles away from you, but really they're only a phone call or text away, and they don't even have to see you to know the exact right thing to say. The fact that through time or travel they’re there for you is a lot of trust that you put in them and that they put in you. The little reunions are always the best part--when you Skype with them, it's a reunion that could annoy anyone around because it's a laugh a minute and filled with hundreds of inside jokes, but it's heartwarming for the friends involved.
It’s not always easy being so far away, for as great as technology is, it’s certainly not a hug from your bestie nor is it having coffee with them whenever you want. Time will pass between talking to them and you can forget a piece of information from that all important story you had been telling them and then it came to a halt because you’d forgotten it. Life just gets in the way. You learn to make the little moments count, the voice notes on Whatsapp and the memes that get sent--knowing that when they tag you in something on Instagram or Facebook that they’re thinking about you.
Yes, describing your long distance friendship to someone is almost as if you’re describing a long distance relationship. There’s no changing the fact that this person is someone who is really special to you, that you would travel to them and they’d travel to you to celebrate a birthday or a wedding -- or be there celebrating via Skype. When somebody is important, time and distance mean nothing.
The truth about having a long distance best friend is that it’s not easy and it takes work, but having them be your friend is worth all of it. The best part of the friendship is when you finally get to be together again and create the memories that help carry you until the next time you get together. It’s those late night phone calls or early morning texts, and it’s the messages where you get to hear a long winded rant or a song.
Thank you to the friends who are near and far--thank you for putting up with me in my good times and the less than perfect times. You’ve shown me that I can put my trust in people and not be let down, because though the miles are far I know I can count on you. I can’t wait until I can see you again and we can sing at the top of our lungs, talk for hours on end and forget about the fact that there’s an expiration. A friendship like ours is special and it’s something that no time difference or distance can come between.
