Going the Extra Mile to Keep A Friendship
Originally published in the Harbinger
As the school year comes to a close, a great fear approaches for seniors: separating from friends. It may feel like graduation will hold the last memories of hugs, conversations, and friendship; however, this doesn’t have to be the case. If both parties put in effort to keep the treasured bond, distance will no longer be a determining factor within the friendship.
Social media is becoming an integral part of the lives for many, and friendships can both be initiated and maintained through it. You can send snaps to your best friend and vice versa, showing how one another’s day is going or laughing at memes sent through the DMs of Instagram.
“We have a streak on snapchat and send each other posts on Instagram and Twitter,” said Alexandra Roberdeo, a MLEC alumnus and freshmen at Hamilton College, about her ongoing friendship with Daylin Delgado, a MLEC alumnus and freshman at Amherst College.
When you’re miles apart from each other with different schedules, talking to your best friend everyday is nearly impossible. But catching up once a week or every other week ensures that you keep in touch.
“We don’t call often but we’ve also never been the type to call all the time. We do update each other or ask each other questions like once a week,” said Daylin.
If you and your best friend are in different states, or even just different schools, there is always something new to talk about, ranging from teachers to mini adventures to relationships.
In trying to keep your bond, it is important to take advantage of every opportunity and never hesitate taking the time to tell your best friend about all the mishaps and exciting things that happened throughout the week.
And although busy schedules and distance may make it difficult to see each other often, try and make room for a visit or two. Perhaps this can be done spontaneously, on a weekend when you both are free or for special occasions such as birthdays.
“It’s not like the distance can get in the way. Last semester, I felt myself missing home a lot, so I took a train to Massachusetts and surprised Daylin,” said Alexandra.
It is also important to understand that while some friendships work out after high school, some simply don’t. It happens. However, it doesn’t hurt to try, especially if your friend holds great significance to you.
“Don’t worry about it. If it’s meant to last, it will. You can’t force something to work, but you should definitely work for it if it’s important to you,” said Daylin.
As the final days of high school approach, remember that with some effort, surprise visits, snap sending, and meme sharing, the bond you share with your best friend doesn’t have to end.
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