Freshman year is a daunting task for many students, especially when the one person who can get you through anything is absent. For me, my best friend and I go to schools with approximately 400 miles, 3 states, and 8 hours in between.

Going into freshman year, it was extremely difficult to understand how the supposed best year of my life would be lived without the single most important person I wanted to share these new memories with. However, I quickly learned that in these years of school that my best friend and I are the farthest from one another, we are veritably closer than we have ever been before.

During the days of summer before heading to college, our motto was "making the most of every last moment we had together". Our days were filled with trips to the beach, music festivals, lazy pool days, sleepless nights, and an eternity of laughter and love.

Even while we were both creating a million memories to help get us through our year apart, the bittersweet understanding that our time was running out was always int he back of our minds. We tried to capture every moment in pictures, spent every free moment pursuing new adventures, and passed each day with endless happiness and togetherness. However, the day we both dreaded was looming near.

I remember the specific day that I had to send my best friend off on her journey to college. I put on a brave face as I hugged her goodbye and sent her off with nothing but smiles, love, and laughter. Little does she know that the very second our cars pulled away from one another, I cried in a way that I never have before. As she left, she took half of my heart with her.

The person I spent every waking moment with was now well on her way to being miles apart from me. My tears were not of sadness from saying our goodbyes, rather they were tears of fear of how I would survive without my best friend. For the first time in many years, I was alone and had to face this new reality without her by my side.

The first few weeks of college were spent making new friends, learning my way around campus, and figuring out all of my classes. While my days were busy, exciting, and always lively, it was very hard not being able to share this new way of life with my best friend. I found solace knowing that she was having an equally as amazing time as I was, but there was still a part of me that wished we were experiencing this new way of life together.

It was not until a few months into college that I realized our friendship was closer than it ever had been, even though we were both so far away from one another. I appreciated our daily texts, Snapchats, FaceTimes, and phone calls. I felt that I was living her life in college right by her side, just as she was living my college experience right by mine.

I told her everything from the weird guy in math class who was a little too flirty, the really disgusting food I had in the dining hall the night before, the escapades and shenanigans that happened on Friday nights, and how I seemingly met "the love of my life" over the weekend, and then lost "the love of my life" the next week.

Our conversations were filled with talk about frat boys, friend groups, and failing classes. I found that the highlight of my days and weeks would be talking on the phone. Similarly, she would explain to me every detail of her life so we would not miss out on the milestones each other reached. Thankfully, the countdown to when we would see each other again was dwindling down to a handful of days.

I cherished the moments where she was able to come home and visit for the weekend. The first time my best friend came to visit me for the weekend, I realized that our friendship was stronger than ever.

We picked back up, almost as if we were never separated in the first place. I will never in my life be able to put into words to pure joy and happiness that I felt when the person I missed the most was now standing right before me. I began to realize that absolutely no amount of distance could ever weaken the unbreakable bond that my best friend and I have.

While I wish we were together every day and living our college years together, I am so proud of the amazing opportunities and accomplishments that my best friend has taken advantage of at her own university. She is paving an extraordinary path for her life, and I could not be happier that she is taking full advantage of her college experience.

She continues to amaze me every day. Even if I have to watch from a distance, I am still overjoyed to be able to cheer on my best friend from miles away, just as she roots for me. With our sophomore summer quickly approaching, I am impatiently waiting to make many more memories and have many more summer adventures with my best friend.

I am so thankful for the friendship that we have and cannot wait to strengthen and grow that friendship for the rest of our lives. I am beyond confident that the next three years of college will only bring us closer together despite being so far apart. I love you so much and am so proud of you P!