Dear Friends,

I think we’re all equally surprised to find that the school year has reached its end. It seems like just yesterday we were smiling at each other shyly in the hallways, not yet the close friends we are today. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Throughout this school year, it was so easy to hang out with each other. A few short steps down the hall or sometimes across our small campus, and you were there. But now, on the doorstep of summer, those two steps will turn into two hours. I know we’ll make plans to get together and hang out, but I also know from experience that there’s just as big a chance that we won’t actually get together. Sometimes life just has bigger plans for us.

So, what do I have to say to you about that? Well, there’s the obvious “I miss you.” And I do, already. All of you who have made this first year into the incredible one it was, I will miss you more than you know. But as we have found, that’s what Skype and six-way phone conversations are for. We’ll be able to stay in touch, even if we can’t actually see each other in person.

I want to say that distance has nothing on good friendships. With friends like all of you, I know we’ll be able to go all summer without seeing each other and pick up as if we were only gone for a weekend come this fall.

I also know that some distance can be good for us. As much as I will miss all of you, getting off of campus and back to our “other” homes will be a refreshing change of scenery. Of course, I know we will miss all being here, but summer will be a much-needed break from each other. Even best friends need a break sometimes.

I suppose I should say thank you, not only for making this year great, but for making summer into a time when I will really miss all of you. As you know, missing someone is an indication of how much they mean to you. So although we may not end up seeing each other over the summer, at least I can rest assured that I have incredible friends who will be just as excited to see me this fall as I am to see them. (However, my fingers are still crossed for a group get-together!)