When you get to be a post-college graduate or even a post-high school graduate, there is a large possibility that a majority of your friends don't live near you. My best friend of seventeen years went away to college, while I stayed home to try and prevent debt. Then after we'd both received our highly coveted degrees, she moved to Boston, and I moved to Florida. Those are two very opposite sides of the country. It has never been easy to be so far apart. No one is ever going to tell you that having your best friend roughly 1,295 miles away is particularly fun or without its challenges, but it isn't all bad all the time. In fact, there are some little silver linings to having a long-distance BFF.

1. You have someone you can send letters to. 

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The art of letter writing is dying nowadays, and honestly, I find that so sad. It's so much fun to write a letter. It can almost be therapeutic, like writing in a diary. You can just put all of your thoughts into a safe space. What safer space than your best friend? And if you're not a big writer you can send other things! You can send cards or photos or surprise packages. My best friend and I send little things back and forth in the mail all of the time just to make one another smile, and it's so heartwarming to be able to give and receive little gifts and smiles from someone you care about.

2. You can have long phone calls. 

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Your friends who live in close proximity to you are not going to always be available to hang out or go to the movies or grab drinks at your favorite bar. However, on those evenings when everyone is to go out, you can stay in with your best friend on the phone or on Facetime. You can have dinner together and just talk for hours. My best friend and I do this at least once a month, and even though she's so far away, it feels like we're together. It's a good way to stay updated on one another's lives, and it always gives you someone to talk to or stay in with. Sometimes long-distance friends are the best companions.

3. You get to plan trips and vacations. 

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This is one of my favorite things about having a long distance best friend! Since we live so far away from one another, we get to plan a lot of trips together. Whether this means meeting up in NYC to see a Broadway show, or one of us going to see the other. It's always fun and exciting to plan out what we're going to do together, and it gives us something to look forward to because we're counting down the days until our next visit. Usually, when she visits me in Orlando, I take her to the theme parks, which is always really fun. I got to have the amazing opportunity of taking her to Walt Disney World for the first time EVER.

4. Long distance friends are the most understanding. 

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Your friends who live far away are going to be the friends who are the most understanding of your life stuff. Friends of convenience may get upset or angry when you flake on plans or haven't talked to them in a while, but a friend who lives far away is more likely to get that sometimes things just get in the way. They have their own things going on too, and they're not going to hold it against you when things come up or when you don't check in for a couple of days. They're used to not being able to spend every minute with you already, and when you do finally get a free moment to touch base, it will be like you never really stopped talking, even if it's been a while.

5. Long distance friends appreciate you the most. 

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That's right, your far away best friend appreciates you the most of any other friend. Why? Because they know that their time with you is limited and precious. So, they treasure and make the most out of every minute they get to spend with you. Not only that, but they also appreciate you most because you have made an honest effort to stay connected and stay in one another's life, despite the hardship of miles between you, and that is an amazing feat.

My best friend has been my best friend for seventeen years like I said. For the last seven years of our friendship, we have lived pretty far apart. We've mostly only seen one another for strategically planned visits and the holidays. However, we're still closer than ever. We talk frequently, and we always treasure the time we do get to spend together. So, is it sometimes really sad to have her in another state? Yes. There are days where I wish so much that she could just come chill on the couch after an especially trying day at work and eat Indian food with me. However, it isn't all bad and no matter where she or I move or go next, we will always be best friends.