Throughout the flurry of excitement for college, there always was a small blip of sadness in the back of my mind about leaving. I tried as hard as I could to distract myself from it, but I had to face the hard reality of leaving my best friends. Being six hours away from one, and almost three away from the other seemed impossible. But as the day came and left, I realized that I had nothing to worry about as long as we did a few simple things to stay in touch.
1. Keep them in the loop
With today's technology, we have 24/7 access to a conversation with our friends. Whether its through texting or FaceTiming, even the smallest occurrence can spark a conversation. All the latest gossip and drama about everything? They still care about it. All the stupid stuff you guys used to text each other? They still care about that too.
2. Stay connected
You can't sit there and say you don't Snapchat your friends religiously about outfit choices, funny videos or ugly selfies on the reg. Its almost a way of life at this point. If they don't have time to talk long, they still could send you a quick snap of how busy they are or even how bored they are. Through other social media outlets like Instagram or Twitter you can stay up to date on whats going on in their social lives as well. There really isn't any excuse to not stalk their new lives at school. Figuratively. Maybe.
3. Introduce them to your new friends
When you attend a school with over 40,000 students like me, its pretty much guaranteed that you will make tons of new friends. Make sure you introduce your new ones to your old ones. Trust me, it'll make them feel good that you care.
4. Don't make them feel replaced
On the topic of new friends, make sure you don't replace your old friends for your new ones. They have been there for you through thick and thin, and don't deserve to be forgotten. However, you'll still make some new besties while at school! The more the merrier.
5. Always remind them how much you love them
Even though they already know, it's nice to say it a few hundred times just to make sure that they're aware of just HOW much you love them. The withdrawal from them is real the first couple of weeks, but even when the homesickness subsides, make sure you continuously tell them. They might not take you seriously sometimes, but it means a lot to be reminded of how much you appreciate them. It really does.
