After high school, you and your best friends may part ways and things are going to change. You may get jobs, have homework or discover different interests. After completing my first year of college, the most important change that took place in my life was that I was discovering new things about myself every single day. But it wasn't until this past summer that a thought occurred to me: maybe my friends are discovering new things about themselves, too.
In high school my best friend and I spent every waking moment together. We were both in the same time consuming activities and would miss each other so much when we weren't at these activities that we would even hang out after practice or FaceTime after a concert. By the time senior year rolled around we knew how to manipulate the system so well that we had every single class together. Life was good. After graduation, we parted ways creating a 45 minute distance between us for college.
People will say that college changes you. I like to replace the word "change" with "opens yours eyes." College opens your eyes to who you truly are. Being less than an hour away, we did get to see each other at least once a month (bless up) and of course we were constantly Snapchatting. Upon being reunited, nothing ever felt different. Being so close, we were always able to pick up right where we left off. Nothing changed, yet, something was off.
We returned home for the summer and instantly became immersed into our summer jobs. I can literally count on one hand the number of times we have been able to hang out this entire three months. I can say this for the majority of the friends I expected to be hanging out with every day. While at first you might think that drifting away from the friends you used to spend every waking moment with is the worst thing ever, there is beauty in it. You will find yourself venturing off on a journey of self discovery without each other.
I miss my best friend, but I am so proud of her. I'm proud of her for doing something I, and many of you, are trying to do. She is finding herself, being herself and not caring what anyone thinks. She is teaching me that when you’re doing things that make you excited about life and are surrounding yourself with people who do nothing but make you feel beautiful, you will find happiness. Although we may be spending less time together, we both are still a huge part of each others' lives. I can say this for all of my gal pals. I like to think that we resemble Carrie Bradshaw and her crew on "Sex And the City." Meet for some lunch and gossip then it's back to our own busy lives! We have this mutual understanding that, no matter what happens, we'll always be there to support each other in any way that we can. We may not always be there for the small things, but we'll always, always, be there for the big things.
While I am lucky in the sense that this time of our lives has made our bond stronger, quite frankly, that may not always be the case. Some friendships may not withstand this kind of change. If your friendship doesn't, that's probably a good thing. As you get older, the meaning of friendship stays the same but how you acknowledge it starts to shift. You're still there for support and to act as a rock, but you no longer have to be linked at the hip to show you care. Going a week without seeing your BFF? Sounds crazy right — adults are weird. Apart is okay and it is a normal part of how we learn and how we grow. You're going to discover new and exciting things about the world, other people and yourself. Personally, I think that the best kind of friendships are the ones that you can not talk for three months then get coffee like you just had coffee yesterday! I mean, how else are we supposed to figure out who our true friends are?
