Dear college best friend,

Like a lot of college students, I am so happy to be on Summer break, a time where I don't have to worry about academic work for a while.

But that doesn't change the fact that I miss you.

It has been nearly two months since I last saw you. I mean, that is such a crazy thought. Before the academic year ended, I was so used to seeing you on campus all of the time; I could simply text you to ask if you wanted to go grab dinner at a dining hall and we would then meet up. Now, you're five hours away from me.

The residence halls, extracurricular organizations, and familiar faces of college are some of the things that many people miss while on Summer break. But being so far away from your best friend who is from another state for so many months is possibly the worst part of school being out. It's not the same as being half an hour to 40 minutes away from my friends who live in the same state as me, where I can just drive to their town or city and spend the day. You're in an entirely different part of the country, and knowing so is the worst because you're my closest friend from school.

I'm not kidding when I say you are my best friend. At this time last year, I was very nervous as a recent high school graduate going off to college (like so many others). I thought the transition was going to be difficult and I was not going to make many friends. I never thought I would meet someone like you.

I miss going on hikes and doing photo shoots on the trails. I miss whooping you in FIFA. I miss going to the mall, leaving with at least 20 bags, and barely fitting them in my trunk. I miss our discussions about superhero movies and comic books (thank you, by the way, for introducing me to "The Dark Knight" trilogy because I am now into Batman). I miss having movie nights. I miss all of the fun things we did together this past year.

I appreciate you not only for the memories but also because I know I can go to you when I need help. There were a few times throughout the year when I was knee deep in stress and conflicts, and you have always been there to listen to me and help me through those rough patches. I can't thank you enough for that. I hope you know that I would do the same for you.

I'm so glad you got to become part of my life and college experience. We both know that school breaks are awful for friends because they separate them from each other -- we've been through three of them already. But I'm happy we are keeping in touch through Messenger, Snapchat, and Skype throughout the Summer. I hope you're having an amazing time at home. I can't wait for you to visit me in Massachusetts, and I'm also looking forward to living in the same residence hall as you this upcoming academic year!

You rock, Gina.