The day you have waited for has come. Finals are over and you finally get to have a break and go home for Summer vacation. There is just one problem… you have to leave all of your college friends for three months. You each will head back to your own homes: some a few hours away, some a few states away, and some half way around the world. As happy as you are to have a break from school you are not looking forward to spending the next few months away from some of the closest people in your life, but you say your goodbyes, possibly shed a few tears when they aren’t looking, and make the journey back home.

Now of course you are excited to finally go home. You get to see old high school friends, family, and of course your pets (we both know you’ve missed your dog the most). You finally get to go eat a home-cooked meal or maybe even go and visit your favorite restaurants that you just don’t get in college. Maybe you are looking forward to a missions trip this summer or maybe just getting a job, so you can break the stigma of being a broke college student. Despite all of these exciting things, you cannot help but feel this emptiness inside of you that only those friends can fill.

Your phone will not be blowing up by your GroupMe asking what time is everyone going to dinner and if the caf is good. You won’t get to go shoot hoops with the guys before supper. You won’t get to stay up until three in the morning playing card games, talking about life, and jamming to 2000s hip-hop on Pandora. It just won’t be the same. Your friends are super awesome so of course you will stay in touch but let’s just face it, you are going to miss their presence.

You never thought you would meet people that would be so hard to say goodbye to. As soon as you get home you will message a vast majority of them saying how much you already miss them, even though it has only been a few hours. You watch each other’s Snapchat stories like your life depends on it, just because you don’t want to miss out on what is going on in their life. You promise each other to take a road trip to visit one another some time during the Summer because you feel inseparable. Lastly, you talk about them constantly to your friends and family back home.

Saying “See you later” to your college friends is a lot harder than you thought it would be. You practically lived together for nine months. They have been by your side through some really awesome times, and some really crappy times also. Let’s be honest, they have basically become your family. Luckily with “See you later” it doesn’t last forever. You get to see them again. When August comes around, I can assure you that the reunion will be so much greater and you will value these friendships so much more because you realized that these friends are people that you just don’t want to spend a day without.