In my cupboard rests a white mug with pink flowers that surround these words: True friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.
Someone I looked up to, a close friend of mine, gave me that cup before she graduated high school. A year older than me, she would move to a different state and pursue independence, while I completed my final high school courses and waited for freedom to come. I didn’t know what would happen with our friendship, but I thought maybe I would send a few texts to her throughout my last school year—see what college was like—and whenever she visited, I would try and catch up with her.
I had lived in a different state than my friends before, but a friend had never moved away from me. I had always been the one to depart.
Well, like I predicted, we texted and visited at a consistent, infrequent pace. Eventually I graduated and moved away from my other close friend, who still had another year left of high school. I survived that because I developed a close friendship with one of my teammates from my soccer team. And after a year of friendship with her, I moved to a different country to serve a mission.
Friend after friend after friend. We would get close and then location would separate us. Even now as I make some close college friends, I know that soon they will leave, and I will leave, and we may not see each other for a long time, if ever again. This dynamic in life is beyond frustrating, but through these unstoppable circumstances, we have the opportunity to create something special: a long distance friendship.
They always say that long distance relationships are hard, and that’s true in all cases. But, when we make these friendships last forever—they’re worth it.
Each long distance friendship will function differently. For some, the friends might FaceTime and call. Others might text here and there. Some may not even contact until they see something that reminds them of their friends. Others may not talk to one another at all, but when they get together, it’s as if nothing has changed. No matter how it functions, these friendship can have joyful moments of reminiscence, support, and understanding, and those moments make lasting long distance friendships better than any other temporary short distance friendship.
With all the resources we have today, location truly does not determine what relationships we get to keep and what relationships we have to let go. Rather, our actions, our hearts, and perhaps the undefinable connection we feel with people determines what friendships will last. If your far from your friend, or are soon to be separated, remember that these friendships can continue on. You can continue to stay in contact, and if you don’t, your time spent together will surely impact each other’s future. I know my friends have impacted mine.
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