One of my best friends lives over 2000 miles away from me. We met online 4 years ago so we’ve always been long distance. As we’ve grown older, our lives have become a little busier. We don’t always have the time to send the daily flood of messages we used to during the pandemic. But we’ve grown closer over the years even with an entire ocean between us.
Sometimes it’s more challenging than others. Unfortunately, no matter how much we’d like to, we can’t just meet up. The key to long-distance friendships is to put in the work and communicate. It’s the easiest thing in the world just to send a message. Ask how they are, send a photo of something that connects the two of you or talk about your day.
Life is busy but making time for friendships is never a bad use of your time. If something goes wrong don’t be afraid to apologise and talk through your feelings with them.
My friend and I maintain our long-distance friendship by checking in with one another, sharing advice and support, and talking about almost anything. For important dates, we make Pinterest boards, playlists or memes for each other. We send long, rambling voice messages about random topics that the other listens to while going about their day – our own personal podcast.
This summer I flew over to meet my friend in person for the first time. I was nervous as I walked through the arrivals lounge at the airport, I knew they were waiting for me on the other side of those big white doors. What if we didn’t gel in person like we did online? What if it was awkward? Sure, we’d been talking for years and hoping that one day we could walk around a mall together, but what if.
We hugged as soon as we met. That week of singing along to songs in the car, watching movies, shopping and sightseeing was everything we’d talked about. So, if you ever get the chance to meet up with your long-distance friend, don’t ever pass on it because you’re worried about meeting in person.
If we ever have any problems, need advice or just want to chat about the inaccurate portrayal of corsets in period pieces, we know that even with the time difference and the school deadlines, love and support will always come. There’s always someone to listen. And that’s what makes long-distance friendships so rewarding. No matter where we are in the world, we’ll always be in each other’s corners.
Words by Nyree McCann
Featured image courtesy of Ian Schneider via Unsplash. No changes have been made to this image. Image license found here.