In life, there are always those special people that you cannot imagine you would have. Friends are crucial to a long-term physical and emotional health but what about when they are moving away from the local area you’ve known all your life?

They become your long distance best friends, moving to a new place, leaving you in shock and fear that they would forget you. However, if you look at the situation another way, these long-distance best friends are the people that teach you most about patience.

This past year, my friend transferred to another school from here. I had just met her two quarters ago last year, and we had become instant best friends along with six other girls. These girls are the essence of my school life here.

We prayed together, laughed together, ate together, cried together, and discuss our struggles together. When my friend left, we felt this unexplainable emptiness. It doesn’t feel the same as seeing her every day on campus and getting coffee before our classes start.

However, through the long distance that we now have, I’ve learned to appreciate her friendship even more. With the amazing technology of FaceTime, text, Facebook Messenger, and Viber, I feel a little less lonely and more motivated to wait until the day she comes to visit our friend group when we can spoil her all we want.

It is her who taught me about what it means to be patient, persevere, and never give up. When she walks into the room, all the stress melts away when she talks to each of her friends. The virtue of patience is what makes us, human beings stronger and more willing to finish a goal or a purpose in our lives.

Another time, I have another friend for 10 years and counting--- who happened to move around a lot because her husband is a doctor who worked on a contract. As her friend, I miss her often and sometimes wished that she comes to visit once in awhile. However, our life, family, and work has kept us far.

There’s a saying that distance makes the heart fonder. I find that to be true and relevant in my situation as I look forward to the day my long distance friends come visit. The comfort of knowing that they will always be my forever friends keeps me motivated to see them again and reflect on the fun times that we’ve had.