Everyone has heard of the dreaded long distance relationship, but have you ever heard of a long distance friendship? I very well could have made up the term, but what else are you supposed to label a friendship that spans across too many miles? Keeping up with a long distance friendship can be difficult, but it’s definitely worth it. When you finally get the chance to reunite, it will feel like you never left.
As cliché as it sounds, I believe a key to maintaining a long distance friendship is utilizing technology. There are countless apps and resources to suit all different communication preferences. As long as you are sending something as small as a Snapchat, or committing to an hour-long FaceTime call, you are putting in the effort and that’s what matters most in any friendship. Communication is a vital part of life, especially in friendships. When there is distance involved and people get busy, it’s hard to stay in touch. What I’ve learned is that both spontaneity and scheduling a time to talk works great. Nothing lights up my day more than when I get a random FaceTime call from my best friend, but sometimes when life gets a little too hectic, we have to set a day and time, and I count down the seconds until that very moment. If you let too long go by without any communication, you can kiss your friendship goodbye. Just send a text saying “How’s your day?” once a week and see how drastically your friendship improves.
Another important part of keeping a long distance friendship is tradition. I’m sure while the two of you were sitting next to each other you discovered an inside joke or two, and it’s fun to remind each other of this. When I hear a song that my best friend and I have a memory with, I send her a video with the song in the background just to remind her that I’m thinking of her. When I receive videos or texts from my best friend, it makes my entire day. My favorite tradition that my best friend and I have is that we text each other exactly at midnight on our birthdays. It doesn’t matter if I have an exam the next day, or if I’m out and about, I will wait until exactly 12:00 a.m. to send my best friend a paragraph-long text about how much I appreciate her on her special day. Other small traditions like eating certain foods or watching certain movies should also be treasured no matter how far apart you are when you enjoy them.
Friendship is a two way street. In my case, I am exactly 558 miles from my best friend. But with the way we keep in contact, you would think we were next-door neighbors. Every time we get a chance to see one another, it’s like we never even left. My partner in crime will forever by my person, even if we are states apart. When someone has been your best friend for so long, you can’t let distance shatter that.
