The day we moved into our college dorms or apartments was probably the scariest but most exciting time of our lives to date. One thing we didn’t realize was that in a few short months, we would meet the people that would go on to become our life-long friends. If you’re like me, those friends are not always in the next town over. Whether they live a few minutes from you or several states away, maintaining the spark in your relationships when your home for the summer can be difficult, considering everyone has their own lives when they go home. I have just a few tips that will be beneficial to you and you friends as you overcome the distance that will separate you for the next two and a half months.

1. Face Time/Skype

This has to be the simplest solution to any long distance relationship. In case you are unaware, Face Time is this nifty feature given to us by Apple that allows the user to video chat with anyone else that has an iPhone as well. Plan a day and time for you and one your friends to have some face to face interaction. Unfortunately, at this time, you can only FaceTime one-on-one, which can become a problem if you have a group of friends who want to all talk together. That’s where Skype can come in handy, if you all have an account, you can have a group hangout in the comfort of your own homes.

2. Email

If you have a friend who tends to be busier than you are, they might not have time to sit down and chat with you for an hour or so. Most times if they don’t have time to talk, texting can become a real hassle as well. So instead sending them a thousand text messages within the span of a week, take the time and write them an email. I know this may require a little more effort on each of your parts, but it will be time well spent, just don't make it harder than it needs to be. After a long and eventful week, fill your friend in with who you saw while you were at Walmart, or who is dating who, or how much you miss them. A helpful tip: be sure to include pictures if possible, makes the reading a bit more interesting.

3. Weekend Visits

Like most college students over the summer, you and your friends might love to take trips throughout the summer, in that case there is only one thing you can do: ROAD TRIP! Get together with your friends and coordinate your schedules and plan a weekend together. Whoever lives close to each other can carpool and you can even take turns visiting each other’s hometowns. This gives your college friends the chance to meet some of the high school classmates you’ve managed to stay in touch with and gives you an excuse to bust out that summer road trip playlist you’ve been creating over the last few months. So fill up your gas tank and turn the music up and get ready for the best weekend of your summer.

Distance is a thing that can strengthen friendships, or ultimately tear them apart, but lucky for me, I know that will never happen to my group of friends, considering we will get to see each other again in the fall. So even though these next few months may seem impossible, there are several ways you can make it through the summer before you get to see your people every day for the next two semesters. I think we can all admit that is the best part about college.