It's that time again. Fall is right around the corner and you've just finished up a summer that felt way to short with some of the best people in your life! This is my second time having to say goodbye to my best friends and it's definitely still super hard to see them go, but it did get a little easier. What I can tell you is that it really makes you appreciate the time you did have, and helps you look forward to lots of adventurous visits, to say the least. It wont be long until they are home for breaks or just for the weekend! It will feel like the end of the world, but they aren't gone forever.

Some friends you'll see when they come home and some friends you'll go visit on regular occasions because you just can't live without them! It's tough trying to decipher which friends are going to be people you don't drift away from. Honestly, drifting away from friends is a natural cycle. No one likes it and most of the time it's unintentional, people get busy and work or family somehow always gets in the way. Regardless of all of that though some friendships will stay solid and those friendships are the ones you know you will have for life. It really is a two-way street, the amount of effort you put into staying in touch with the people who are important to you will determine who will stay in your life. It's not always easy to talk to your best friends everyday, especially if you're working and going to school or involved in a lot of extra curricula's, like a lot of my friends are. I thought I would be able to talk to my friends everyday all day like we used too, but that's not the case. Texts turn into phone calls, and I think that's my favorite part about it. You just really start to grow up and notice that by the little things, and its great knowing you're friends are only a phone call away, and that you don't have to talk to them everyday to know that they are still there.

I stayed home for college and almost all of my best friends went off to different schools, and it was so shocking at first. Not having them be just 15 minutes away from me at all times was so sad and I was really upset about it for a long time. I was really worried that I would be left out of the conversations about college life and that I would be missing out on the college experience, but it really isn't as bad as you think it may be. I don't mind eating home cooked meals or being able to do laundry at my house, and I don't have to worry about moving in and out all the time or hope that I have new outfits on every time I'm seen out. I know now that staying home and going to the college in my home town was the best decision for me, because I needed that to help me stay grounded, and focused on my grades. I understand (and still want) the college experience for myself one day. I know that eventually I will go off to a differnet school and i'll have to pack up my life and take it with me. It's OK for you to take your time on this kind of thing. You're not the only one who struggles with leaving home; so many people go though that and you'll get through it, and grow out of it. Your friends wont forget about you, no one that they meet will be able to take your place, because no one will be able to get the years that you did. Staying home for college also makes you appreciate your home a lot more than you did. I wanted to get out of town so badly, and when I ended up staying I just had to suck it up. I learned that my campus is beautiful, my professors are welcoming and so helpful, and that we tend to take for granted that we even have the ability to obtain higher education at all.

My friends still come home all the time, and I go visit as often as I can. College is serious business and forces you to grow up, even though you don't want too. Friendships that are meant to be in your life, will be, and you aren't missing out on anything that a phone call can't fill you in on. Trust me.