As the new school year comes sweeping in, I’ve seen a lot of sad posts and pictures of friends who have to separate due to different choices of colleges they will be attending. Seeing all these posts takes me back to this time last year when my close friends and I were packing up to leave. Very few of us were going to the same school, so it was extremely hard to say goodbye. I remember two of my friends were the first to go and they happened to be leaving on the same day. The night before these two left, we had a small party at the lake house we always went to that summer with just our friend group. It wasn’t anything outrageous. We had an iHome speaker, each other, and about 12 hours to have our last bit of fun together. We danced around the living room, sang at the top of our lungs, and probably had the best time ever.
It didn’t even feel like everyone leaving was going to be that hard until the morning arrived. I remember waking up with this knot in my stomach because my best friends weren’t going to be 15 minutes from my house anymore. I distinctly remember hugging my friend Alexandra and just burying my tear filled eyes in her shoulder. In that moment, it’s like all of our memories from the time we became friends in middle school to now flooded back into my mind, and they were all about to end. I knew we were always going to be friends and that she was only a phone call away, but this is the sad truth about even the closest of friends moving away for college. Things change.
This sucks, but it’s just what happens. You may not think it now, but even you will change. You all will come back for Christmas break and hang out and you’ll notice that the vibe amongst everyone is the same, but everybody looks and acts just a little bit differently. For example, your friends are going to make other friends, probably in a sorority, club, or even a sport. Therefore those friends have probably rubbed off on your friend just a little bit. This is just what happens, with girls especially. When people are around each other so much, they start to act like each other. They dress the same, talk the same, and want to do the same things. With that being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone unconsciously altering the way they are. Your friend may not be the exact person you once knew. It’s a part of growing up, and it’s just something you’re going to have to deal with.
You’re also probably going to tell each other that you guys are going to talk every day. This is never true. Y’all are going to get busy and no one is going to have the time to have a 30 minute conversation with someone on the phone. School gets in the way. New friends get in the way. Something always gets in the way. Now am I saying you guys are never going to have time to talk? Absolutely not. I still talk to my friends quite a bit. We don’t call each other every day by any means and we don’t always send texts asking about every detail of everyone’s day, but if I’m driving to the grocery store and want to catch up with my friend that goes to Valdosta State, I’ll give her a call. If she doesn’t answer, it’s no big deal. She’s probably busy, but I know she will call me back when she can. When it is possible for us to get a hold of each other, I enjoy our conversations so much. We have a ton of stuff to tell each other because we haven’t talked in a couple weeks. She tells me about who did what at the bar and I’ll tell her about how I saw a kid riding his long board with no shoes on campus. It’s so exciting.
Sharing stories with each other is also one of my favorite things we do when we all can get back together in our hometown, and I know it’s something you’ll enjoy too. Yes, everyone has changed a bit, but sometimes it’s really interesting hearing everyone’s crazy college stories. And in the midst of everyone rolling over laughing uncontrollably, you’re going to look around and notice that in that moment, everything is still the same. You don’t talk every day. You may not be the closest as you once were anymore, but you guys are deep down still the same high school idiots that did everything together. College is only temporary and then comes life. As harsh as it sounds, nothing will ever be the exact same. The future will change, but one thing never will. You will always have your memories, and you will always have your best friends that you love with all your heart.
