My dear loves,

You may think that I'm exaggerating when I say that there isn't a day that goes by when I don't think of you guys and miss you. But it's the honest to god truth. There's always at least one moment in my day when I think about a memory we shared, or I see something that reminds me of one of you. And every time it happens, it breaks my heart a little bit. But that's only because you are some of the best people that ever happened to me and the fact that I don't get to see you every day kills me.

But that doesn't mean you're losing me. I live for the text messages, the "I miss yous", the skype calls with hot drinks. I love keeping up with you guys over social media and seeing everything that's happening. Even though it can trigger my FOMO, it also makes me feel like I was there with you. It makes me so happy to see you guys thriving and doing amazing things even if I'm not there to congratulate you in person.

I hope you know that no matter what, I will always be there for you. You guys will always hold a special place in my heart. You came into my life at an important and formative time and made a huge impact. So much of the person I am today is because of you. I was going through a rough year when you met me, and you helped build me up and shape me into a new, more confident, and far happier human being. I owe y'all more than you'll ever know.

Even when life gets hard and talk becomes scarce, I know that I can text any of you out of the blue and you'll fall back into my life as if you had never left. And that's really wonderful. Long distance friendships are hard and sometimes feel completely impossible. Life happens. Y'all have your lives, and I have mine. We're all undergrads trying to do the same thing: get through college and survive with most of our sanity. So don't feel bad about dropping off the edge of the earth for a while. I know I'm guilty of doing the same thing when schoolwork and clubs get a bit overwhelming.

I will always miss being able to spend time with you in person. There's a lot of the time when I'm sat in my room wishing I could just run into your rooms and just talk. I miss a lot of the little adventures we used to go on. I miss being able to sit with you in the library or the dining hall as we talked about all of the things we should be doing but decidedly weren't.

I know now that there are new inside jokes I won't understand, new experiences I won't have, and memories that were made without me. And I have my own. But when it all comes down to it, I'm only a text message (and 500 miles) away. And I will always be here.

Love always,

The friend who had to leave