My best friend is the greatest. She is my person, my other half, the ying to my yang, she's the nerd to my jock (she'll admit it), she is every single stereotypical thing that anyone has ever said about their best friend. The only problem is, she lives 6 hours away. We met the summer before we started college, at one of those "come check out our school" things that every school does. The night we met we stayed up until four in the morning talking about literally anything, and laughing because dolphins are weird. Really, dolphins was the biggest topic. You know you found your person when you can talk about the most random topic with them, and still cry laughing because of it, and I found mine. When school started we were thrown back together, our friendship grew slowly over the year, and before I knew it, she was my best friend. Which is why I hate summer.

College students should love summer because of the crazy amount of sleep we are supposed to, and probably will, get. But, summer is hard. The friends you lived with for nine months are not just two steps away anymore. You cannot just walk out your door and see people to hangout with, or to watch TV with. The Bachelorette/Project Runway/America's Next Top Model viewing parties won't happen at your house, they are a school thing. The devotions that you would do with your best friend will stop, you'll have to do them solo now. You struggle to maintain a consistent conversation with your group of friends, and you constantly miss them, and live too far away from anyone to even try to see them in person. It is hard to maintain a text conversation because you are working, or they are. W. But then, you'll get a text, or a snapchat, and it feels like no time has passed. You pick up the phone, and will tell them about the cute boy who bought you coffee, the dog you passed on the street, or how you are struggling in your faith. When you hang up, they're gone again, and all you want is to be back in your dorm room making forts with them.

I knew it was going to be hard, that I probably wouldn't see the friends I came to think of as family. One of my friends said, "Why are you so sad? It's not like we're not going to see each other all summer." But, I knew I had three jobs, online classes, church, and family functions, and that is exactly what I knew would happen. Which is why I hate summer, I hate that I disappointed everyone who thought that we would see one another, and would talk every day, or even skype in between jobs. I am not the only one who feels this way, I know this because I know that so many other college students are doing exactly what I am. They are struggling to maintain the relationships that were so easy to keep when they were at school while also trying to make enough money to last through the school year.

As much as I hate summer, I also love it because it tests the relationships that I have. It shows me who I really miss, and who I needed a break from. Summer gives me a chance to be with my family, work, sleep, and to do what I need to do. I am finally seeing what an adult relationship is like. I see that being an adult means trying to maintain friendships while only being able to send one quick text to check in, and waiting hours for a response because you are working. Summer shows me that despite the distance, friendships can last, and won't change just because you are busy.

Summer sucks. I will be the first one to tell you. I have no free time, no sleep, and miss my best friend like crazy. While I know that or relationship hasn't changed, it still hate that we don't have the choice of going on a run and getting lost, or sitting at the campus coffee shop and harassing each other, or going to Starbucks before we go to church, or even just watching a movie and sharing snacks. Summer is hard, but it tells you if your friendship is built to last. For me and my best friend, I know that we'll make it through many more summers.