As my first year of college came to a close, I had mixed feelings about summer. Every year since first grade, summer was something I cherished and anxiously waited for. However, it's different now. I got to know some truly remarkable people, many of whom I consider my closest friends, started dating one of my best friends in this world, and even spent some quality time with my older brother who also attends the same university. There are so many things I am thankful for that occurred during my first year of college, and many things that I have learned from as well. But now here we are in our second month of summer and all I want is to be back at school with the people I've grown to love. As easy as it is to just curl up in my PJs all day and wallow in this separation sadness, which, unfortunately, I have given into a couple of times, it's so important to push through that sadness and not let the disappointment consume you. Here are a some tips to help you adjust from being away from your new besties:
1. Avoid texting 24/7
I'll admit, I am terrible at living up to this. I try so hard to constantly be texting at least one of my friends from college during the day, even if we don't have anything to really talk about at the moment. Why is this bad? To start off with it will make you miss them 100x more and it will never compare to your hilarious 3 a.m. conversations you were having in person a couple months ago. Secondly, you may start questioning if you're just annoying the heck out of everyone, which will continue to spiral you out internally. Ditch the phone for a couple hours. Go for a walk, go to your job, find something else you can do besides waiting for that response. Limit yourself to texting less and checking your phone less.
2. Schedule Skype calls
Most everyone you befriended probably has a job, camp, friends from their hometown or something that they're going to be occupied with during the summer. Hopefully, you have that too, and you'll keep pretty busy so to avoid thinking about how long it is until you're back on campus. One way to keep connected would be setting up a GroupMe or group chat in which you can try and see when everyone is free to Skype once or twice a month. This way you can physically see your friends in a more "face to face" way, instead of just staring at some texts and waiting for their names to pop up on your phone. Unfortunately, it might not be the easiest thing to do with everyone's conflicting schedules, but it's worth a shot!
3. Road trips!
One of the coolest things you can do, depending on where you and your new friends live, is getting together and going on a road trip to reconnect. Again, with conflicting schedules it may not be very easy but it's worth perusing if you can! If you live a couple hours away from anyone in your group, make the effort: set up a weekend where you can visit and see their town, or invite them to stay at your house. There's nothing like bonding on a road trip and being able to see the people you love, so to make the three months you'll be apart not so long.
4. Snail Mail
One of the cutest things one of my best friends started was sending us postcards from the various places she's visiting and exploring this summer. It's so fun to get a surprise in the mail and hear about the adventures people are going on, and to start a new tradition within your group that will keep you connected.
Just remember: as nice as it is to hear from other people about what they're up to, make sure you're still involving yourself in fun things so to make your own memories as well. The worst thing to do is constantly check social media or be glued to your phone watching everyone else go on adventures while you're sitting there doing nothing. Push yourself to explore your town, get a few jobs, do what you can to keep moving forward. Trust me, I understand how lonely it is after being in a new environment that is like home to you, and being states apart from your favorite people in the world. It really sucks. But the summer will pass, you'll go back to school, and start making new exciting memories before you know it. There's nothing wrong with being bummed out, but it becomes an issue when that becomes your life. Hang in there! Have some fun! Summer doesn't have to suck even though you can't spend it with your favorite people. Enjoy the time you have with your family, pets, and use the time to do all the things that you couldn't do when you were too busy at school. Summer is what you make it, so make it great!
