One of the hardest transitions of my life was when my friends went away to college. We were the same age, but I had decided to stay in my hometown for college while most of them moved away. I’ve been reminded just what a difficult transition it was this year, when my brother moved across the country and away from his friends to go to college. No matter where you are in life, leaving your friends to start a new chapter of your life is difficult. Whether you’re still in high school and all of your friends left for college, or you decided to stay in your hometown while your friends left, surviving this transition is not an easy task, and it’s a change that takes some getting used to!
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1. Make Sure Your Friends Know They’re Important to You
Before your friends leave for college, let them know just how important they are to you. Whether that means having an emotional night-in where you all cry about how much you’re going to miss each other (I’ve been there, and I’m pretty sure that everyone has) or you simply get a few gifts that have a lot of meaning, make sure your friends know that they’re important to you. That little reminder before they leave will be important in the coming months—you’ll both be more apt to maintain a relationship if you do that.
As your friends leave for college, it can be an emotional time for everyone. You’re all going to miss each other and it can be hard to stay connected. But there are ways to make sure your friends know just how important they are to you before they go.
A great way to do this is to have an emotional night in with your friends. Talk about all the fun times you’ve had together and how much you’ll miss each other. You can also exchange gifts that have a lot of meaning. This could be something handmade, like a scrapbook of memories, or something simple like a bracelet with a meaningful inscription.
It’s also important to keep in touch while your friends are away. Make sure you have each other’s contact information, and try to stay connected via social media or text. Set up Skype dates or Facetime calls if you can. You can also send each other care packages with items that remind you of each other.
It’s also important to plan visits. You can plan a weekend trip to visit your friends at college, or have them come and visit you. This will help keep the friendship alive and allow you to make more memories together.
2. Focus on Your Own Likes and Dislikes
One of the weirdest but best parts about leaving your high school friends is that suddenly it’s all about what you like and dislike. A lot of the time, you spend so much time with your high school friends that their likes and dislikes can become yours by proxy. Now that you’re not spending as much time around them, focus on what you like and try to make a hobby out of it. It will help distract you from missing your friends!
Leaving high school friends can be a difficult transition, but it can also be an opportunity to focus on what you like and dislike. Find a hobby that you enjoy and that can help you take your mind off of missing your friends. It can be anything from painting and drawing to playing a musical instrument or learning a new language. It could also be something physical like a sport, yoga, or dance.
Another great way to fill the void of missing your friends is to find a new group of people to hang out with. You could join a club at school, take a class at a local community center, or volunteer at an organization that aligns with your values. It will be a great way to meet new people and explore interests that you may not have had the chance to before.
Finally, don’t forget to take care of yourself. Eating healthy, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly are all important for your physical and mental health. Make sure to take time for yourself to relax and recharge.
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3. Make the Most of Your Current Life
It can be easy to get down on yourself for not having your friends around, and instantly try to recluse. However, don’t let those voices take over. Instead, make the most of your current life. If you’re still in high school, get involved in school events. Go to football games. Get involved with clubs. You may find that you make a ton of friends just because you didn’t let yourself sit around and get sad that you weren’t with your friends.
For those whose friends are away at college, it can be difficult to adjust to a new environment and to make new friends. However, it is important to make the most of this new period of your life. High school is a great opportunity to get involved in clubs, sports, and school events. Participating in these activities can help to build friendships and to make the most of your current life.
In addition to getting involved in school activities, it is important to take care of yourself and to find activities that you enjoy. Consider exploring new hobbies, such as painting, photography, or playing an instrument. You can also take up a sport or join a recreational team.
Finally, it is important to stay connected with your friends who are away at college. Make sure to keep in touch through phone calls, texts, emails, and video chats. Keeping up with your friends can help to make the transition easier and can provide a sense of connection.
4. Utilize Social Media and Technology
We’re so lucky that we live in a time where we can just pick up a phone and send a text to nearly anyone, or we can keep up with our friends via social media. Of course, it’s not an ideal method of communication, but it’s a great way to stay in touch and involved in each other’s lives, even if you can’t be together in person.
In today's world, staying connected with friends who are away at college can be a challenge. Social media and technology can provide a great way to stay in touch and keep up with each other's lives. Whether it's a text message, a video chat, or a post on social media, these tools can help bridge the gap between long-distance friends.
It's important to remember that social media and technology are not a substitute for spending time together in person, but they can be a great way to stay connected when in-person visits aren't possible. For example, you can use video chat services to have virtual hangouts with your friends, or you can share photos and videos with each other to stay up-to-date on what's going on in each other's lives.
In addition, there are a variety of online services and apps designed to help people stay connected. For example, you can use a shared calendar to plan virtual get-togethers, or you can use a shared task list to stay organized and on top of projects.
5. Accept the Fact That Things Will Change
When I was leaving my own friends for college, one of the hardest truths that I had to accept was that things would change. It was hard to believe that I’d never see my friends every single day again, or that we’d roam the halls of our high school again. Your relationships with your friends will change, but they don’t necessarily have to change in a bad way if you can be open to that change!
As college begins, many teens are facing the reality that their friends are moving away to attend college. This can be a difficult transition for many, especially if they’ve been close for a long time. It’s important for teens to understand that while their relationships with their friends may change, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
Accepting that things will change is an important part of the transition. It’s okay to be sad and to miss your friends, but it’s important to recognize that your relationships can still be strong even when you’re apart. Staying in touch through technology, such as video chat, can help maintain the connection.
It’s also important to remember that you can still have fun and make new memories with your friends. Make plans to visit each other when possible, or plan a group trip together. Even if you can’t get together in person, you can still find ways to stay connected.
It’s also important to make new friends and build new relationships. College is a great time to meet new people and explore new interests. Take the time to get to know people and make new connections.
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6. Be Open to New Friends
Often when you start a new chapter of your life without the friends that you’ve always had, it can be so easy to be closed off to meeting any new friends. One of the first steps to making new friends is just being open to making new friends. If you feel like you’re betraying your friends by making new friends, you’ll never be able to make new friends!
7. Try to Move on
It is so, so ridiculously hard to move on from people that you love, especially when they’re your friends and you don’t really have a choice in the matter. That being said, moving on and accepting that that chapter of your life is over is vital to truly coping with your friends leaving for college. That doesn’t mean that you can’t maintain relationship with all of your friends, but rather, that your friendships with them will take on a new form.
How have you dealt with your friends leaving for college? Let me know in the comments!
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