Finding the person you know is gonna be your best friend for the rest of your life is a crazy thing. Finding that person at 18 is even crazier. My best friend (turned roommate) Gill and me met our first semester of freshman year and moved in together the next semester. We've been inseparable ever since—until she decided to spend a semester abroad in Kenya, that is.

Seeing as how we missed each other terribly when one of us would do so much as go away for the weekend, this was bound to be tough. But there were ways to make it a lot easier and stay bright eyed and bushy tailed until the day she (finally) got back.

1. Find a new activity to keep yourself busy and meet new people

I started writing for Odyssey the same week Gill left for Kenya. I thought it would be good to get involved with something structured and important that was my own thing, separate from Gill or any of my other friends. Writing for the community and collaborating with new people gave me something to keep myself busy and also gave me a purpose to keep working and creating, no matter how lost I felt without my best friend.

Through Odyssey, I’ve met a lot of really good people and dedicated myself to my role as a creator and eventually the Editor in Chief. I was also able to dive deeper into my position as Public Relations Representative on my building's Hall Council. Carving out a new community and set of responsibilities for yourself that doesn’t involve the person you’re missing goes a long way.

2. Create a plan for when and how y’all will stay in touch

Can you imagine what it was like for your best friend to leave the country 30 years ago? With all the technology and wide array of apps at our fingertips today, there’s bound to be something that’ll work for you and your other half, even if there’s no cell service between the two of you—FB Messenger, GroupMe, WhatsApp, etc.

But then there's the issue of the time difference. Kenya is 8 hours ahead of the US, so sometimes getting a good conversation in required getting up a couple hours earlier or staying up a couple hours later. These were small sacrifices to make to get in the one or two conversations a day we could have, but it’s important to also take care of yourself and not totally mold your life around your BFF being gone.

There were some days I spent entire classes texting, stayed up until sunrise, or was straight up glued to my phone during a meal with another friend because I just had to talk to her—but there were other times I had to tell myself to stay in the present and maybe wait until a more convenient time to get that text out. Balance.

3. Allow yourself to build close friendships with other people in your life

Despite missing Gill like crazy, recognizing that studying abroad was a good thing for her made it a lot easier to see her out and about. It was also a good thing for me; I got to branch out a little bit with other people in my life. One of my really close friends Val moved in with me and it’s been an absolute blast. We wouldn’t have experienced our late night laugh sessions (and what we call “AirDrop time” where we shamelessly shuffle memes and Tumblr posts back and forth between each other’s phones) if Gill hadn’t gone on her trip.

I also had an opportunity to connect more with some friends from other areas of my life like fellow executive board members from my building’s Hall Council. While there was nothing stopping me from bonding with these people while Gill was here, I was definitely given more of a push to create bonds with these people since my main boo wasn’t here anymore.

4. Okay, hear me out—memes

There’s nothing like waking up to fifteen Facebook notifications from the same person every morning. Whenever we saw something that we knew the other person would either find hysterical or just desperately need to see, the deed was done and the meme was shared. And then there were the Wholesome Memes. For when you’re worried that your BFF isn’t getting enough love from a world away.

5. Hold on to the little things

I’m talking about those little mementos and special things you hang on to that remind you of each other. Because Gill and I are roommates and also she’s the best person literally ever, I have a million sticky notes saying things like “I love you more than dogs” and the like. We also have these matching bracelets with the coordinates of the building where we met freshman year.

Wearing it on my wrist every day is a little reminder that no matter how many miles apart we are, we’re always only a conversation away from home. If you’re interested in a bracelet like ours, you can buy them and others from WandererBracelets.com.

6. Pictures, pictures, pictures

Yeah, this one feels a little obvious. But it’s really important; seeing photos of what Gill was up to, getting to know her friends and her surroundings from her eyes, and seeing her bright eyed and bushy tailed on a beach or next to a pile of bones really made my day. I even set one picture of her as my phone background for a little because I was so proud of her and seeing her smile made me smile. Pictures help bridge that gap between the two of you and make it possible to still play an active role in each other’s lives, even from 7500 miles away.

7. Not every message needs a reply

There were some moments that were so pressing—either something excruciatingly good or excruciatingly bad happened—that I couldn’t help but send a message longer than a screen can fit. She wasn’t always there to read or answer that message at the moment, and vice versa. And that’s okay. Sometimes it’s just being able to yell your little heart out (virtually, of course) and knowing that someone out there is gonna be there to celebrate or grieve with you, even if it’s not right away. You’re not being annoying. Send the paragraph texts.

8. Find a happy distraction for the tough times—like the night they leave

I’ve never binged a show the way I did with “Big Mouth” the night Gill left for Kenya. It was the stupidest show in the world and the perfect distraction. Comedy specials on Netflix—you know, the ones I could watch without immediately getting bummed out because I’ve only ever watched them with her—were also a go to when I felt especially lonely and like I needed to laugh. Quick fixes can go a surprisingly long way in some instances.

9. Get okay with doing things alone

While I still had a solid group of friends who were always willing to grab a meal, it’s more of a hassle to coordinate going out to eat or to study with people when they’re not ten feet away from you in bed. It’s also the difference between showing up to a general body meeting at the beginning of the semester alone versus with your right-hand man. Obviously the former is more comfortable and less anxiety-ridden; however, there’s a certain confidence that comes with showing up places alone—a confidence that’ll last even when your BFF is back in town.

10. Never let go—theoretically, of course

The day Gill got back to the US, we surprised her at the airport and—don’t tell her I told you this—she was so happy she cried. And I hugged her so tightly she probably couldn’t breathe for a second or two. It was all worth it; seeing her again made me feel the most at home I had felt in three months.

Spending a semester without my partner in crime was pretty tough. Some days were lonelier than others and some days it seemed easier to just book a flight to Kenya and call it a day. But what’s way more important than however lonely I was every once in a while and however much I missed Gill was the experience she was getting. Part of loving another person is loving yourself, too—and taking care of yourself for the day your other half finally gets back and you get to give them a semester’s worth of hugs.