WARNING: The article you are about to read is definitely a sappy one.

Dear High School Friends (and Life Long BFFs),

There is no one who knows me better than the best friends I made in high school. They’ have seen me at my best and definitely at my worst, AKA the peak of my awkward stage (RIP freshman year). Heading off to college and being hundreds of miles apart from the people I spent every waking moment of the last four years with is a heart breaker; staying in touch with my best friends from home takes just as much effort as a long distance relationship.

First of all, take the reunions. Getting on a plane, bus or train to go home is basically the most exciting thing in the entire world because I know that the second I walk through my front door, my best friends will be waiting there for me and will attack me with hugs (and possibly even shed a few tears). We immediately sit down together at the kitchen table and pick up exactly where we left off after spending months apart. We basically spend every hour of every day together in order to make up for lost time.

Leaving home is definitely a tear-jerker. We all pray that by some miracle our spring breaks will be aligned and we won’t have to wait another four months to see each other again. But let’s face it; miracles don’t always happen. We use our group text like it’s our jobs while away at school, filling each other in on every detail of every single day, telling them hilarious stories from a night out or complaining about an absurd amount of course work this semester. My high school friends always have my back and genuinely want to hear about everything that’s going on in my life while we’re apart.

Yes, people do grow apart as they get to college and expand their social circles, but my friends and I will never be the case. I know that long-distance requires a lot of time and effort, and at times, it can feel like a chore, but long distance with my best friends is an entirely different dynamic. Thank you to my BFFs for making college a little less hard and for making coming home so happy. #VirtualHug!