If you are a student in high school or college, you know the exact date and time that spring break or summer vacation starts. The idea of tossing your textbook, all your old reports, and piles of unfinished homework sounds incredibly liberating, right? But, there is a downside, believe it or not. Unless your friends live within walking distance of you, summer vacations can actually suck. You may have to go weeks, heck, even months before getting to see your besties again. Thankfully, we're growing up in the technology age, where there are ample ways to stay connected with friends at the touch of a button swipe of a screen. See how fast technology moves? Here, a list of ways you can stay connected with your friends over the summer, despite any amount of distance between you.

Snapchat

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With Snapchat, you can instantly update your bestie on your summer adventures by sending glamorous selfies, a quick pic of whatever delicious meal you're treating yourself to, or a dumb video of you just making faces at them. Its easy-peasy, and good for when both of you are bored and need something to do, too.

Scheduled Skype Dates

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By making time at the end of the week to see your friend face-to-face... or screen-to-screen, you get as close to actually being there with them as you can. One-on-one video calls are free of charge and it costs nothing to download the software, either! If you'd like to video chat with more than one friend, Google+ hangouts are a good alternative.

Group chats

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For those of you out there with smartphones and a love of texting, group chats are an easy and convenient way to update all of your besties on your busy summer schedule at once. They are also great for just letting everyone know that you're thinking of them if you don't have time for a Skype session and your hair isn't selfie-ready.

Letters and Postcard

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If you like to kick-it the old fashioned way, or if you're a romantic at heart, sending letters and postcards is a fun way to keep in contact! There is just something about a letter that is more personal and heartfelt than a text, or even a phone call. Another creative idea would be to send a care package! A personalized box of goodies and essentials would be greatly appreciated to those friends of your living the exciting outdoorsy life of, say, a camp councilor (I speak from experience!).

Meet Up

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Maybe planning a month-long trip to Hawaii isn't in your budget, but perhaps a weekend in a local hotel is something you and your friends can swing at least once this summer. Pick a location, find a decent place to stay for a night, and go visit a few attractions together while you catch up on what you've been up to all break.

Hopefully some of these options work to keep you and your best friend thick as thieves over the summer. If not, get creative and find some other zany method that is just right for you guys, and come fall, it'll be like you were never apart in the first place.