Moving to Gambier from Seattle has been quite the struggle. Leaving my best friend, Jamie, back home was one of the hardest goodbyes I had to say. We met during our sophomore year of high school in Biology class, and at first, she was scared of me. She thought I was too smart and very intimidating. I thought Jamie was the annoying girl who talked a lot to everyone else except for me. However, after working on a group project about photosynthesis, Jamie and I got to know each other and instantly established a friendship. Over the next couple of years, we have become inseparable. When she committed to going to the University of Washington in the spring, I was so happy for her, yet sad because I knew I would be exactly 2,405 miles away from her. Nevertheless, Jamie and I came up with a list of things to do when trying to maintain a long-distance friendship.
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Snapchat
No one wants a 274 Snapchat streak to die, especially not you and your best friend. I do admit, my best friend and I have lost our streak many times, and after freaking out for about 10 minutes, we are back to sending weird pictures of ourselves in no time. Snapchat is one of the easiest ways to see your BFFL; it’s efficient, requires little to no effort, and it has those insanely cute filters.
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Facetime
The time difference between Ohio and Washington is 3 hours. So, when Jamie wants to tell me about that cute guy she met at a frat party last night, I have to wait until the afternoon to hear about it since she will be too busy sleeping back home. We always schedule a time to Facetime each other (usually on the weekends) and when the time comes, we talk to each other for hours, filling each other in on the latest juice from our separate collegiate lives. Nonetheless, while scheduling a time to talk can be difficult due to our crazy schedules and time differences, Jamie and I have made time to talk to one another across the country.
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Text
This one is obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people I’ve lost touch with because I have not been texting them since I came to college. Even though Jamie and I do not text each other every day, she is the only person back home that I have been texting constantly since I came here in August. I found it surprising how many people I lost touch with back home after coming to a college that is so far away. While I have made so many great friends here, I do miss talking to mine back home. Jamie is the one person I can always rely on to always answer a text (and keep me updated about that one cute frat guy).
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Make a friendshipstagram
Now, a lot of you may be wondering: What in the world is a “friendshipstagram”? Well it’s easy! It is an Instagram run by you and your BFF about you and your BFF. Jamie and I made one in the spring of our senior year in high school during our AP Spanish class (SĂ, we still got an A in that class). We document our friendship adventures as well as show everyone how we define friendship goals.
Make plans to visit each other!
Since Jamie is still in Seattle, I am the one who has to keep flying over to see her during breaks. We’ve already made a schedule to hang out with each other in January.
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Send each other care packages
There is no better feeling than walking into the Gambier post office and seeing that wonderful yellow slip of paper saying that I have a package. Jamie and I usually gather items that remind us of one another, tell each other about how we found the perfect gift, and then we don’t send them because we’re both too lazy. If you and your best friend have care packages for each other, definitely send them, unless you and your BFF are like Jamie and me and love each other so much that you don’t need a care package.
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Celebrate each other’s birthday
Jamie and I lucked out with our schedules and our birthdays. Since we were both born around holidays (Thanksgiving and Memorial Day) I will be home to celebrate both birthdays. However, even if you and your best friend’s birthdays are at a time when y’all are apart, make an effort to celebrate over Facetime, treat yourself to some cake, or go to a party on the weekend as a birthday celebration.
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Complain to each other about homework
Just like high school, Jamie and I still complain to each other about how much work we have to do. Homework is something every college student can relate to, and it’s a great topic of conversation when you and your best friend run out of things to chat about.​
Make jokes about people in college who remind you of people in high school
Everyone goes to college and finds at least one person who reminds them of that one kid in high school who loved yogurt covered pretzels. Jamie and I have weekly conversations about people we meet in college that remind us of our old friends in high school.
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By following these nine things, I feel that my friendship with Jamie has strengthened. We tell each other absolutely everything within two seconds of finding out about something. I could not have asked for a better best friend; I have reached the point in my life where I can call Jamie my sister that I never had (she has two, including me: three). Jamie is one of those few people in my life who will have my back no matter what, she is the only person from high school who I know will be in my life for the many years to come.
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Image Credit: Anushka Patel