I started my freshman year of college three weeks ago and I already miss my best friends like crazy. We are all so different, crazy, petty, annoying, and over the top but I love them more for all of that. They are the only ones that completely understand me. I tell them everything and know that they won't judge me (well, when it comes to the important stuff). And even though it has only been three weeks since I came to college I miss them all of the time. Here are some tips I have realized really help to make it easier to be so far away from friends for so long.

Constantly text each other- group messages are the best invention

My friends and I are constantly texting, tweeting, snapchatting each other and talk to each other everyday if we can. We tell each other how our days are going, big events that we all wish we were there for, guys who we like, friends were making who are nice and great to hangout with but just not the same as hanging out with each other, and any little thing that has happened to us. It's a great way to remember that even if you aren't always having the best time at college, you have your best friends there for you whenever you need them.

Actually call them!

My friends and I have come up with a time called PBT or Personal Bonding Time where we will have a four- way- call and talk with each other for hours. We probably annoy our roommates by saying weird things to each other that only we understand, but for that time we are completely in our own world where we transport back to high school when we called each other weird names, annoyed each other, and laughed so much we cried. I honestly loved to hear all of my friends and talk to them as if no time had went by.

Mail them things so they have something tangible from you (also who doesn't love gifts?)

I love mailing letters and gifts to people so I have started to do that with my friends. I wrote my friend a letter on her birthday and I plan to send them more (as soon as they all figure out where their mail room's are). It is always nice to open mail because it feels like a present. It's special and reminds you that other people are thinking of you which is always very nice.

Come home and visit them (if you can)

I have come back home twice since going to college and it is always nice to come home, no matter how much you thought you would hate your small town you grew up in. I way so happy to go home, see some of my friends, sleep in my own bed, hangout with my family, and go to my regular coffee shop. Making time to come home and hangout with friends is really important because it helps you all keep in touch and it gives you something to look forward to when you have to get up early for school during the week.

Check in on them whenever you can, just to say hi or even to talk about how different college is compared to high school

I always try to text/ snap chat my friends to see how they are doing and they do the same for me. When I hear they are having a hard time I want to rush to their side and help which is hard to do being hours away but I still try to help by giving them advice and talking them through it. This category may be more personal for me because in my friend group I usually play the "Mom" role and try to manage everyone and everything. I just want all of my friends to be happy with where they are, make friends, and have a good time at college (although we will always be best friends, no matter how many other friends they make).

Hang up pictures of you and them in your dorm

This one is obvious because when decorating your dorm room you want to show off all of the cute pictures you have with your friends and make the room look nice. I have a bunch of pictures of my friends and I at birthday parties, in Boston, at a Color Run, graduation, prom, or just from times we've hung out. I love being able to look on my wall and think of all of the memories we've shared over all of the years we have been friends. I know who I can go to if I want to talk about writing, music, TV shows we both like, weird movies we've seen, high school drama that's still going on, what people from our high school are doing now that we've all graduated, and how we are all adjusting to college life. The pictures remind me of them and then I just can't wait until we can hang out again.

Hug the pillow one of your friends mom made for you that has a picture of you and your friends on it

Everyone has one of those, right? No? Just my friends and I? Well everyone should get one because it's cute and honestly made me want to cry when I was really missing my friends. Knowing that we all have the same pillow at all of our different colleges makes it seem like a cool little piece of our friendship is strung together by these nice little pillows.

Any of these things will ultimately tide you over until you can see your friends again, so it's always nice to have something to remember them by. Texting, snap chatting, and calling may not seem like enough but there are always long weekends and vacations when you will inevitably be with them every second you possibly can. It is a great new experience being at college and basically starting all over by making new friends, learning new things, and having fun in a totally new environment. It is, ultimately, a great time in our lives so we should all be trying to make the best of it because these years will be gone before we know it. Having best friends who are going through the same thing with you is always nice because you can relate to each other more and also have new stories to tell each other every time you see each other!