It’s absolutely awful being away from my high school friends. Yes, I’ve made new friends in college and I’m always so busy with work and activities, so I don’t have much time to sit around missing them hour by hour, but it’s tough. Especially because I went out of state, and most of them stayed in state. Of course I use all forms of modern technology to communicate, whether it’s sending silly Snapchats, Face timing, constant texting, or calling them. However, everyone is super booked with their own college lives, and it can be so hard to catch up and follow along with what everyone is up to. We used to know exactly what was going on while we passed each other on our high school campus, and we would know the smallest details, like what they had for lunch that day. Now I don’t even know what they ate the whole time we’re apart. Not that the lack of knowledge about their food intake is what makes me so sad.
Whenever we actually see each other in person, it’s an intense constant stream of stories as we try to fill everyone in simultaneously. The first time we saw each other since leaving for college, we could not get our words out fast enough. It’s amazing to catch up with them, but at the same time, I still am left in the dark as to who their friends are, what their college looks like, and what kind of work they are doing. It really bothers me sometimes because I want to be able to picture them at their college. It's such a big change from seeing most of them every single day in high school.
Over spring break, some of my friends and I were lucky to be able to visit one of our friends at the University of Florida. We got to see where she lived, we met her roommate and many of her friends, and we walked around the campus. We got to visualize where she was all those months we were apart, and it really helped me trace her journey in college. I got to see where she spent all her hours in the chemistry lab, in the library studying, and where she went to meet for her clubs. I got to see how amazing she was doing, and how happy she was there. I wish I could do that for all of my friends because it really gave me peace of mind, and I enjoyed seeing what she was up to. I loved knowing where she was planning on heading in life, because I will get to follow along with the path year by year that she took to get there.
Although it may be hard to keep in touch with your high school friends while you’re navigating college, I encourage everyone to call them or text them every once in a while. High school was a big part of our lives because it’s the time we were still living in our hometowns, and it’s a time where we all were trying to figure out our futures together at such a young age. You don’t want to disconnect yourself from that part of your life. I always bother my friends with my constant group chat messaging, telling them things that are often irrelevant and slightly dumb. I think I told them once how good my ice cream was that day. They still humor me though and text me back, because it’s even the most mundane of conversations that can help us stay in touch. We also have a Facebook page where we occasionally share pictures of what we are doing, or articles, or things we think are funny. It’s a great way to try to keep up, so there isn’t silence the whole time we are apart. It will be hard to keep this up for four years of college and beyond since we all may be moving to different cities, but it’s so worth it. I want to always be a part of their lives even if I’m five miles or 5,000 miles away.
