Saying goodbye is never easy and most of the time, it isn’t pretty either. Everyone is crying, makeup is running, there’s a complete disregard for how ugly your ugly-crying-face is. There’s a lot of hugging and a lot of promises being made. But how many times have you said to your friends, “we’re still going to see each other/talk every week/hang out” and haven’t actually done it? I’m definitely guilty of all the above. A part of life and growing up is accepting certain realizations, like the fact that our schedules get even messier and our responsibilities grow even longer after college, and that is perfectly ok. Your real, adult, lifetime friends should understand this and even embrace it.
All that being said, there are still ways you can keep in touch with your girl gang after graduation that don’t require too much time, attention or effort – but still mean as much. Social media makes it so easy to keep up with your friends and friends of friends, but I think it’s just really good at making you THINK you’re keeping up with them. Get creative with connecting! Whether you’re about to graduate, halfway through your senior year, or even have a few semesters until you part ways with your friends, consider these 3 ways to keep your friendships alive.
1. Use group chats or do group video chats.
Instead of texting with your individual friends every week, make a group chat, if you don’t already have one. Everyone will be on the same page with gossip, inside jokes, good news, and life updates. If you need more personal interaction, do group Skype or video chats with each other. Once Apple finally figures out a group FaceTime feature, you know I’ll definitely be on that.
2. Send each other mail. Start the sisterhood of the traveling somethings.
When one of my good friends moved away in high school, we kept in touch through letters and sending each other books in the mail and I can’t express how much I loved and adored it. Nothing beats the nostalgia of waiting for mail, opening up a letter, and then waiting for the other person to receive yours. You can customize this to whatever holds value in your friendship or what your common interests are. Because I love to read and so did my friend, sending each other books we loved was like sending each other little pieces of ourselves each time. If you love makeup, surprise each other by sharing new products you’ve been loving. If you’re in a big friend group, you can try sending mail down a chain. So one person sends something to the next and that person sends to the next, and so on. This tip works with just about anything!
3. Plan friend trips within the next few years.
One of the most exciting parts of growing up and starting your individual adult lives is that you’ll actually FEEL like adults with real jobs. You can now afford to plan an extravagant and adventurous trip, so take advantage of that. Try to take a friend trip to a paradise destination in the next 2 or 3 years and make more memories together.
College is where you find your lifetime friends and that couldn’t be more true for me too. I’ll be sure to turn all my “goodbyes” into “good to hear from you” in the years to come after college.