Almost a year ago, my best friend moved about 8 hours away from me (If you’re reading this, hi, ❤ u ,b), and eventually, she will be moving even farther away.

So how have we maintained contact without seeing each other everyday like we used to?

At some point in everyone’s life, we have to say goodbye to a close friend, and while we say that we will keep in touch, it is easy to unintentionally fall out of contact.

It is ok to fall out of touch with an old friend. Life is ever turning, and people never stop changing, especially earlier in life, so sometimes, no matter how hard one tries, we move on and continue life on our own.

However, if you and your friend are truly commited, and truly never want to get lost in your own lives, but to be intigrated into each other’s, then I have some tips to maintain contact long after what would be expected or typical.

Even with our modern day forms of communication, it appears to be easier and easier to fall out of touch.

During the breaks inbetween school, my best friend and I could go weeks without speaking, and pick back up like nothing happened when school started again. That was just how we worked, and texting isn’t my favorite form of communication, so we needed something that would actually encourage us to stay in touch.

That’s when we had the best idea ever: penpalling!

I know that penpalling is the solution I have for every problem that I talk about on this blog, but trust me here, ok?

This was the perfect solution for our situation. The time period inbetween sending a letter and recieving a letter was perfect for our normal communication habits outside of school, and with the stress of school, finding a letter in the mailbox brought me unexplainable joy.

I’m not saying paper and stamps saved my life, but they s a v e d m y l i f e.

There is just something about reading about things that your friends takes their time to write for you that is infinetly more meaningful than any length of email or text.

While my best friend and I still text and DM and send each other funny Tik Toks, we really keep in touch through snail mail.

Snail mail allows us to look back at each other’s lives long after our texts are lost through time and new phones, and we even ask questions and play paper games and share our music together, which makes it all the more fun.

So get some stamps, ask for an address, and start writing.

Even if you only send two letters back and forth, or go on to send fifty letters, it will remain an amazing experience of patience and love, and something tangible to hang onto when you can’t hold onto your friend anymore.

Near or far, friendships play an important part in shaping who we are, and should be given many outlets of communication, so find something that works for you, and stick with it, and you’ll be ok :).

-Katelyn