6 Steps For Surviving a Long Distance Friendship

The summer after my sophomore year, one of my best friends moved to Costa Rica for ten months as part of a study abroad program. Though these past ten months have been hard without her, here are a few tips for surviving a long distance friendship.

1. Send Mail– I can not stress this enough, but send mail! By physically sending mail to each other you are giving your friend something physical they are able to hold onto. Write them poetry, send photos, pressed flowers, chocolates, doodles, or whatever you want! While social media makes it easy to connect, physical items can further your bond and keep your friendship going strong.
2. Sisterhood of the traveling– Have a traveling journal or item of clothing!Before my best friend left, two of my other best friends and I pitched in money and we bought our version of the traveling pants, we call it the “traveling jacket”. We wrote up rules for the jacket which entailed adding one new thing to the jacket based off of an experience you had while the jacket in your possession. Since getting the jacket, it has been all around the world and made all of us feel closer to each other even though we were thousands of miles away.
3. Social Media– Social media is an incredible tool that you can use to keep connected to your friend, with one touch you can send them a photo, a message, or anything really. By keeping them in the loop on social media, the gap between you won’t grow and you will be up to date on each others lives if you aren’t able to or don’t talk everyday.
4. FaceTime/Skype– Even though they are far away, you can still talk face to face (well sort of). Face Time-ing or Skype-ing gives you a way to have a face to face conversation and it allows you to have full conversations with more human emotions than a text can convey. You can even watch movies together.
5. Try and Talk Once a Week– by talking at least once a week you will be able to stay caught up in each others lives, lean on each other and keep your friendship alive.
6. PRESENTS!– While this seems like this should be under mail, this deserves it’s own category. Send each other birthday, holiday, or any presents in general! You will feel less disconnected on these days if you are able to give them something you know they will love!