I was fortunate to meet the greatest people in my life in middle school. We were all still in that incredibly awkward stage and our social skills were limited. But, somehow, by eighth grade, my group of friends was formed, and I have had the same wonderful people by my side since then. Everyone says that your group of friends changes once you get to high school, but that didn’t happen; it was always us. We escaped a lot of the drama of high school and weren’t affected when boyfriends came and went. They know everything about me and I know every little quirk about them. 6+ years with the same people has that effect on you.

So, when college started rolling around and we began to realize what it actually meant for us, we learned the true meaning of the term “bittersweet.” We were all so excited to get away from the small town we had grown up in and start a new chapter of our lives. But that chapter would have to be without one another for the time being. None of us were attending the same college, and I would be at least seven hours from all of them.

We promised to keep the group message strong, to hangout every second we could over breaks and that nothing would change. And, we did pretty well with those promises, but sometimes, the distance just gets to be too much.

Like when it’s 1:30am on a Sunday night and some guy just decides to end it. Your friends at school feel bad for you, but they don’t know that this isn’t the first time this has happened. They weren’t there when it happened not once, but twice, in high school. They don’t understand that it’s the reason that you can’t open up to people, let alone in a relationship. But, your friends at home were. They were there right beside you, and now they’re not. All they can do is attempt to console you through the phone. But, getting a text saying, “It’ll be alright” is not the same as hearing it in person.

Or, when you make really good friends at school, or you’re talking to a guy and you really want to tell your friends about them. You can describe them all you want, you can even put them on Facetime with them, but they don’t know them. They don’t get to experience things with them and actually get to know them as a person; they don’t get to see what you see in them. Sometimes, all I want is for my best friends at school to meet my best friends from back home, but all either of them will ever get is just stories.

Only seeing your friends over break causes a lot of stress. Usually these breaks occur over holidays, if they coincide at all, and a lot of the time is put toward family. But, after going four months without seeing your favorite people in the world, you make it work. And, it’s worth it. I get so excited every time I get to see one of my friends from back home; sure, they already know everything going on in my life, but it’s so much different when you’re actually with them.

College has been the best year of my life so far. I have already met so many amazing people, and some that I know will be in my life forever. But, I also already have lifelong friends waiting for me back home. It takes two people to make a friendship work, and it takes two very dedicated people to make a friendship work when you’re separated by 7 hours. I am so thankful that I have friends who put in the effort to keep making our friendships stronger. Whether it’s a random Facetime, an update at 2 in the morning, or visits when we both really need them. Distance sometimes puts a strain on a relationship, but in this case I think it has only made our group stronger.