People often talk about long distance romantic relationships in their college years -- I'm sure there are many articles on that topic on The Odyssey alone, but I want to offer some thoughts on a different kind of relationship.

I was lucky enough to meet the three best friends I would ever have while I was in high school, and we happily spent three years having various misadventures together. Between school and youth group, it is safe to say we saw each other every day. Of course, that had to change when we went to college. I don't mean to brag, but my BFFs are all outstanding in their fields, so they naturally picked schools that were not necessarily close to home, and neither did I. (We were also spurred by the desire to get of the town in which we went to high school.)

I will admit, when I trotted off to college (a year earlier than everyone else), I was afraid. I truly love my dear friends, and I was not sure that we could stay in touch. I should have known then I had little to worry about. We do our best trying to keep up with each other, but often we are so busy that we get so caught up in our own tiny on-campus worlds (I know I definitely do). But there is something magical about our six-year friendship; no matter how many weeks it's been, or how many texts or snapchats we've sent each other, we are still as close of friends as we've ever been. We can hang out after weeks of not seeing each other and be as comfortable and weird as we were in high school.

The longest I have gone without seeing one of my best friends in the world was seven months, and while I never want to do that again, I am not afraid of the long-distance situation anymore. Right now, three of us are sitting in my best friend's living room, the other two are watching Sherlock Holmes (the one with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law), while I am typing on said friend's computer because I foolishly left mine sitting in my OCU apartment. Yesterday, we had a "Once Upon a Time" marathon and then spent at least two hours just reading to ourselves, perfectly happy just being in each other's presence. I love spending this time with three of my favorite people, and now it's made all the more precious knowing how brief that time can be.

When I looked back and counted how long I've known these women: Sam, Lindsay, and Señor Fluffy-Pants (as she requested to be named in this article), I was astounded at how much time had passed. We are entirely different people than the girls who met each other at youth group, but we've stuck with each other through six years of change and growing up.

One of my favorite books is Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, which as a matter of fact, was adapted into an opera by Mark Adamo. In one of her arias, Jo March perfectly encapsulates what an everlasting sisterhood means to her:

"For days on end we drift apart,
Each of us doing, perfecting, pursuing her art.
But comes the day,
We hate the song,
The sketch is wrong,
The story's long,
But comes the day we come together again.
Turn to each other to revive us, refresh us... is anything more precious?"

Cheesy, I know, but I heard it while I was driving the other day, and it really caused me to reflect on my incredible luck. There is something unbelievably special about a friendship like I have.

So, if you are reading this as a person who is fearful of losing their platonic-soulmate friends, here is my advice:

1) Communication is key-- my preferred methods: Google hangout (when your schedules line up and you need that face to face conversation); Snapchat (so I can get their glorious selfies and they can see mine); and letters (never shy from the old fashioned approach). I am also fond of messaging random memes, and I am quite the master at the art of friendship mix CDs.

2) Don't worry-- Communication is key, but know that if a relationship is meant to endure it will. In the end, it won't matter how many months you've spent apart, you and your friends will be able to pick up as if nothing has changed.