People always say that the friends you make in college are friends you make for life. I am only a few months away from graduation and can say over these few years of college I have made many different kinds of friends: friends from class, friends I eat lunch with, friends I go to bars with, friends that see art house cinema movies with me – the list goes on. College is a time for growth, so some of my “friends” have turned into acquaintances and faces I see in the hall and give the polite wave too. Every time I give this polite wave, I think of my best friend and how much I miss seeing her in the hall at school, but she lives on the West Coast now while im on the East Coast.
I met Kristi our freshman year at Marymount Manhattan College and my life has been changed ever since. Our friendship started like any other with talking in class which turned into walking home from class…and then all of a sudden I am watching her get a tattoo while some guy pierces my ear in a room the size of a closet. We got even closer our sophomore year and I started feeling like I had made the life long friend people talk about. Then, after a lot of back and forth, Kristi decided to transfer schools and go back to California, which is where she originally is from. My heart broke into a million pieces the day I dropped her and her Dad off at the train so they could catch their flight home.
Fast forward two years and I can actually say “I saw her a couple of weeks ago,” and each time makes it that much more clear of why I am thankful for her – even if she lives across the country.
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I am thankful for how she has taught me to realize priorities.
We may not talk everyday but I at least have some idea what is going on in her life thanks to Instagram, snapchat, Facebook, and FaceTime. If I post something, I sometimes get a text from her about it. She Facetimes me constantly but I am very much an “appointment only” type of Facetimer. We always make time for each other because our friendship is a priority. We also both find some money once in a while for a plane ticket so we can just hang out! #bestfriendgoals
I am thankful for the people she has introduced me to.Â
The first time I visited Kristi in California, she introduced me to all of her friends and I was instantly welcomed. I have also stayed in touch with them on all of these social platforms and get the occasional Facebook invite to a birthday party-even though I can never go. I once had lunch with her friend, Kathie, when she came to New York on a trip to see her sister. Kathie then even made the long drive to Kristi’s school the last time I visited. And Kristi’s sister, Shelby, is one of my best friends who I talk to almost every week. Last winter break Kristi and Shelby came to visit me for Shelby’s High School gradation gift too! (SO MANY GROUP CHATS)
I am thankful for the time difference.Â
This may sound awful, but it’s kind of cool. When I am out late and need to talk, she’s awake.  When she’s out late and needs to talk, I am usually awake and about to start my day. It’s weird how it works out but I always find it funny. She feels more available to me now than when we lived in the same time zone!
I am thankful she is the way she is and being on a different coast will never change that.Â
Kristi is the most hardworking person I have ever met and always puts everyone before herself. She has the biggest heart and I owe her the greatest of thanks for being one of the best friends I could ask for. Â Even from thousands of miles away, Kristi always makes me feel welcomed, loved, and important – I hope I do the same for her. Even though I only see her once every few months, I am thankful for the time we do get to spend together and cherish it. She and I are always just a phone call or plane ticket away.