Long Distance Friends {Guest Post}

Today I have one of my best friends here to chat with you about maintaining long distance friendships!

Kristin is amazing.  I met her my first night in the dorms and we have been best friends ever since.  She also helped encourage me to start Unwritten.  I don't know where I would be without this girl and we have been there for so much over the past 6 years!  I think my favorite moment was having her dad comment on our friendship and tell me how great it was that no matter the distance, we always pick up where we left off.  And you know what... it's true.  When Kristin and I are together, it's like no time has passed.  This girl even meets me at Disneyland whenever I go, that is committment to a friendship!  Or to Mickey, I'm not really sure ha!

Disneyland together

Without further ado...

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Hello lovely readers of Unwritten. I feel so privileged to be guest posting today for my dear friend Katie. I’m Kristin and I blog over at w/ milk & sugar, a lifestyle and food blog. I blog about cupcakes and health food, DIY projects, and anything else that catches my fancy.

Katie is one of my “real life” friends. We met our freshman year at San Diego State. The first night in the dorms she went around to each and every room on our floor to introduce herself and meet everyone. Seriously this girl is awesome! She was one of my bridesmaids and was the one I could count on to get things done. The week before my wedding she was running errands for me and even picking out things like my rehearsal dinner dress and new outfits for my honeymoon in Hawaii.  I could not have done it without her {at least I would not have been as fashionable :)}

Getting ready for Kristin's wedding

Want to know the interesting thing about my friendship with Katie? We have not lived near each other in 5 years! Katie lives in Northern California and I am in San Diego. We went to college together freshman and first semester sophomore year, but after that Katie moved back home and transferred to a school up there. It would have been easy to lose touch over the years, but we’re closer than ever. There have been ebbs and flows, and it takes some work, but good friends are always worth it.

Macbook fun in the dorms

In fact I have 3 very close girlfriends in my life that live nowhere near me.  One is about 100 miles away, Katie is 500 miles away, and another is in NYC, 2700 miles away! And these girls are some of my best friends. 

So how do you keep a friendship strong when you are on opposite ends of a state, or country?

Here are a few things I’ve found that make the distance seem less.

1.       KIT! Remember how everyone wrote that in each other’s yearbooks? It was just something you put to fill space, like HAGS (Have a great summer). But when you keep in touch regularly it makes you actually feel like that person is still a part of your everyday life. And honestly, in the age we live in it is easier than ever to stay connected. Think of how it was 50 years ago? People had to write letters or make expensive long distance phone calls. Now we can text, email, FaceBook, call, skype, mail, or even blog! Blogging together has made Katie and I even closer. The point is, there are a lot of options.

Sometimes it gets tough when two people have different schedules. Doesn’t it feel like everyone nowadays is super busy, all the time? But a simple text when you’re thinking of the person helps them keep you in their mind too. Example: a few weeks ago I saw some young firemen at the grocery store. I just HAD to text my friend in the desert who has a bit of a thing for firemen ;)

2.       Send little gifts. When you get together with your friends that live close by, you probably treat each other once in a while, right? I do that with my friends all the time. We always seem to take turns buying each other coffee or tea. Why not keep up that habit with your friends who live far away? You can snail mail the cute bracelet you saw at the farmer’s market or a gift card for coffee. Katie started this in our friendship. She emailed a Starbucks gift card to me with a sweet note. Even though we couldn't catch up over coffee in person, she still felt close.

3.       See each other as much as possible, whenever possible. This one’s simple. If you’re going to be in the same area, hang out! No matter how much effort you put into keeping in touch by phone, email, etc, nothing beats a good face-to-face heart-to-heart. (Katie here.  You don't know how many times I have wanted to ask Kristin to come to the airport for my hour layovers!)

Kristin's trip to Sacramento

You learn a lot about your friendship with someone when it is no longer convenient. I’ve had friendships where we were inseparable when we worked together or shared a class, but when that convenience was gone, so was the “deep” friendship. In the end, true friendships will pass the test of time and distance.  

What about you? Any tips for keeping a long-distance friendship going?

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See.  Told you Kristin is awesome!   

Come back tomorrow for another sweet friend sharing her perspective on friendship!