At some point or another, friendships of all kinds get tested by geography.
Life goes on, people run off to school, follow their careers hundreds of miles, travel the world and move across the country. Whatever the reason, anyone who has had to separate from their bestie knows it is anything but easy.
It can be like living in the twilight zone. One minute you’re laying in bed eating cold pizza dishing about everything and nothing… then suddenly you’re out in the world away from the person who make any situation comfortable. You’re excited to be exploring new horizons, but scared that one day something crazy will happen and your BFF won’t be there to run to.But before you freak out and cancel moving plans, remember that we live in a technological firehouse of a planet. We have the tools and gadgets necessary to stay as close as possible to someone without physically being there. Don’t let distance intimidate you. There are tons of ways to stay in touch and keep your long distance friendship as strong as ever.
Have Regular FaceTime/Skype Dates: Oh, the beauty of webcams. These babies give us the ability to essentially be in two places at once and are at the pinnacle of long distance connection. Having an iPhone, which most people do nowadays, lets you FaceTime wherever you are. You can pretty much put your friends in your pocket and take them wherever you go. At the beginning, major friendship withdrawals will probably have you doing this on the daily. Once you guys start getting into your own groove, try and plan designated webcam time to catch up and eat cold pizza together. Or you know, whatever your thing may be.
Keep Them In The Loop: This may seem obvious, but distance makes it harder to keep your buds up to date with what’s going on in your life. You will be making thousands of new memories with new people, and that’s totally okay (don’t ever feel guilty about making new friends). There will be things that you can’t wait to dish about and there will be things that you forget to bring up. Don’t try and fill them in on every little detail—that can be nearly impossible—but remember to catch each other up on the good stuff. It will make the long distance transition much easier if you keep each other involved.
Take Lots Of Pictures: This coincides with keeping your friends in the loop. Even if you’re not the one who moved away, you’re gonna be doing tons of stuff without your usual crew. Load up your phone with pics and videos so you can give the full low-down on how fun that music fest was.
Schedule Visits & Vacations: Sometimes seeing each other on a screen and chatting while trying to push through your choppy Wi-Fi just isn’t enough. To avoid a BFF withdrawal crisis, coordinate your days off and find some free time to visit each other. Better yet, find some time to run off for a weekend and take a well needed vacay with your girls. There’s nothing like spending some quality time on the beach with mimosas and tanning oil (and cold pizza) to make it seem like nothing’s changed.
Be Personal: Nothing says impersonal more than mailing the same stock photo postcard to all your friends, sending a cheesy e-vite to your housewarming party, or texting “miss you!” every once and a while. Be heartfelt and specific. Don’t just remember their birthdays, but be the first to call at midnight. Take it old school and write an actual letter, with actual words. Find souvenirs your girls would die for and let them know you still know their weaknesses for Godiva chocolate and knockoff Jimmy Choo blowout sales. Even though you are all moving on with your lives, it’s important to remember the little things.
Okay, so being far away from your boos can be tricky and to be honest, things might not ever be the same without your bestie by your side. But no matter if you’re three miles apart or 3,000, there are always ways to stay in touch with the people you love. When it comes down to it, distance sometimes has a way of making people closer than ever before. It might take some adjusting, but who are we kidding, distance has nothing on you and your main baes.
Feature Photo via Seredipity and Creativity