The art of keeping in touch

By: Grace Bocking

Although you may hear cynics of the world claiming that long-distance relationships don’t work, don’t let them discourage you—at least, not if it’s a friendship. While keeping the spark alive in a romance may not be easy when there’s endless miles separating a couple, friendships can often endure a lot more stress.  That is, if you know what you’re doing.

Here’s a word to the wise: even though your first instinct is going to be to start strategising ways to stay in touch, don’t count on being able to keep all your promises. The game plan you and your buddy come up with may work at first, but you won’t be able to maintain daily Skype sessions. No matter how much you love them, the world around you is going to be one big distraction. Learn to lower your expectations, be flexible, and don’t put so much pressure on yourselves. This will be an adjustment if you’re used to seeing each other every day, but it will teach you to have faith in the strength of your friendship. If you do feel the need for daily updates, try using Snapchat. You won’t want this to be your only form of communication, but it’s great for quick updates.

It’s also important to note that even though you’ll miss your friend like crazy, every email doesn’t need to be an expression of your undying devotion. This gets stale really fast, and it can be difficult to reciprocate. Don’t say it unless you really mean it, because if you say it too much it won’t mean anything at all. If you’re worried that they’re going to forget about you, try to remind yourself that they probably feel the same way. Their world is going to keep on spinning without you, but this doesn’t mean that they don’t wish you were there.

The truth is that if your friendship was built on convenience, its structural walls probably won’t be able to withstand the stress. Maintaining a long-distance friendship takes equal effort from both parties, and at the end of the day, it will only work if you both want it to. Still, if you truly value each other, not even distance will be able to tear you apart.