At Wake Forest many students go abroad for part of their junior year. This means many dynamic duos are split and long distance friendships are created. Being away from your best friend is the worst. Your life guru is too far away to consult for every decision you have to make, and your closet shrinks as half of it moves to a different country. Talk about inconvenient. However, there is a silver lining, and that is that long distance friendships do work, but you have to put in a little extra work.
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This survival guide is for everyone who has to be away from their best friend for an extended period of time.
1. First, it is crucial to make time to talk to them. Yes, you are busy with your life and so are they, but let’s be real… who else is going to listen to all your problems?
Besides, when you’re used to talking to someone every day, you can go a little stir-crazy when you stop. These are just the facts of life, people.
2. Pick a Netflix show to watch together. Yes, you might be in different time zones, but if you are watching the same show, it will provide you with something in common to discuss besides all the other fun things going on in your life.
Obviously, you won’t be able to watch it at the exact same time, but if you are within an episode or two of each other, this could be a fun way to still do stuff together when you are hundreds or even thousands of miles apart.
3. Weekly/Biweekly FaceTime dates. Yes, Snapchat and texting will keep you in contact more regularly, but sometimes you need more than that. Hopefully your FaceTime sessions will go better than Zoey and Chase’s in Zoey 101… that was disastrous. Seriously though, sometimes you just need to see them in person, and therein lies the purpose of FaceTime.
4. If you just want to do something nice while your “person” is far away, send a care package! Yes, the postage on it might get pricey, but it could be a fun way to send shared keepsakes, or favorite snacks, movies etc. …or a poster size picture of yourself so they don’t forget you *wink wink*... no, I'm just kidding... unless you want one, 'cause I already had it framed.
5. Spontaneous trip to see them! If you can afford it, and have the time to go visit your best friend who’s gallivanting across Europe or in some tropical destination, why the heck would you not do this? While this may not be an option for everyone, it could be a really fun surprise! However, you should still coordinate with someone… it would be a shame if you got there, and your bestie was in another country!!
All of this being said—some seriously, some not so much—when your best friend is far away, especially studying abroad, it is important to remember that it’s not permanent, (unless they shack up with a Hemsworth, in which case, I’ll fly out for the wedding), and you will be reunited before you know it!
And who knows? They might even bring you a present from their adventures… *cough cough*
