Dear Friend,

You know who you are, and quite frankly, there are quite too many of you. I’m sorry for being distant, it isn’t on purpose. I know that you’re probably sorry for being distant, too, but it isn’t your fault either. There’s this strange thing that happens when you graduate high school, when you become this adult-like creature. The reason I say adult-like is because we aren’t like real, actual adults. We’re more like in this stage of “Oh crap, I have so many responsibilities, I’m not quite sure where to start, and I kinda skipped the tutorial??”

It sucks that having this new start in college ultimately turns into a loss of connection with many old friends. But it’s incredibly difficult to maintain every single relationship you’ve ever built, while growing new ones, taking on an impossible case load, working, and getting involved on campus. It doesn’t mean I love you any less, and I know that when we finally do meet again, it will be as if no time has passed at all.

I know that we do not mean for these relationships to suffer in the endless storm that is the college lifestyle but it is almost impossible to help it in one way or another. Many friends leave home for colleges far away and become physically far away from you. Distance is a huge deterrent from spur of the moment get-togethers, and when they are finally home on break it seems as though your duties and obligations couldn’t have fallen on worse dates. It always seems as though there is so much to do on those days for some reason.

Having friends who go away to school far from you, or even those who stay close but just are on completely opposite schedules, will hurt; especially in the beginning. The hurt seems to subside after a year or two, but we shouldn’t let it. Once we let the hurt come to an end, we will make even fewer efforts. But we should keep fighting for those moments.

To my friends who I don’t speak to or see often enough, I’m truly sorry. I love you all with my whole heart, and I wish things were different. I know I should send out a sporadic text message every so often just to check in, but life is messy and it doesn’t always allow for such a thing. I hope someday we will be as fully in each others’ lives as we once were, but for now, I want you all to know that I think of you daily, I wish you only the best, and I am here for you if ever you may need me.

With love,

Your friend