Up until I reached high school, all of my friends had lived within a five mile radius of me. Most lived a short walk away and I felt like I had an unlimited supply of people that were ready for anything at any time.

Flash forward a few years and now most of my friends live at least two (or more) hours away if we’re not all back in our hometown for the short durations of time that we’re given off of school. When we all moved away and I had begun making friends at school that weren’t from my home state, I tried to treat the situation as if technology could make it seem as though none of us were apart.

But that definitely proved to be harder than I originally assumed.

Not seeing my friends was difficult. I’m definitely the type of person that is used to always having plans. Whenever I would come home from school I would already have then entirety of break or that weekend planned out with whomever happened to be home at the time, too. It was the same way at school. I can count the number of days that I did nothing or had the day to myself on one hand. And I don’t just mean each semester, I mean from the whole year.

So, as you can imagine, having your closest friends several hours away from you for a prolonged period of time can drive you a little crazy. Especially when you’re used to being around them so often. Seeing their face on your phone screen with a line of text on it, although better than nothing, is not the same as having them next to you.

In all honesty though, it makes the time that you do have with them all the more meaningful. Now, I have a number of states I can go visit at any time! I know I’ll always have a place to sleep when I go and a “local” tour guide to show me the best spots in town, too.

I think this has also pushed my friends and me to go outside of our comfort zone and be more bold. We’re sending each other screenshots and links to things that we want to do together and we will do them. Because the thing about living more than five miles apart gives each day a weird sense of urgency. This has definitely contributed to a seemingly unending supply of energy and adrenaline when we’re together, and we look back on the day content with all that we accomplished with one another.

Living in different states has created a unique bond between each of my friends and me. Even the most mundane things become an exciting activity because we’re just glad to be in each other’s company. To me, this is one of the best parts about having long-distance friendships. Because you know that you’re in good company when you genuinely enjoy going to get your groceries at night in the dead of winter, something that I avoid at absolutely all costs when I’m alone.

While it’s definitely hard knowing that I can’t physically be there for my friends as quick as I can snap my fingers, I wouldn’t want to trade them out for anything.