How To Stay Connected: Life After College
I think it is safe to say we have all experienced this at some point in our life. We graduate from high school or college, we move to a different city, or maybe we recently started a new job and suddenly we aren't seeing friends as much as we used to. This is a completely normal part of life, but I won’t say it is easy!
In our lifetimes, we make more connections and form more friendships than one contact list could handle. That is a great feeling! However, we also don’t stay connected to all of these connections and friends, and that is 100% okay. So let’s talk about some of the different ways I have kept in touch with friends and some ways you can too!
Keep in mind, utilizing these different methods of keeping in contact does not need to be a daily ritual. Just like your friends, you are living your own individual life with different schedules and possibly different people. Don’t feel guilty about it! Live your life, you deserve it.
I personally grew up right around the time when social media became a part of normal, everyday life. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and now TikTok. There are so many different ways in which I am able to keep up with what my friends are doing, whether they are in the same city or halfway across the world.
I love sending friends photos or videos that I know will make them smile or laugh. More than just sending a funny photo, it is also letting my friend know that I am thinking of them even if we don’t see each other everyday. Some of my close friends also like to check in at least every month or couple weeks just to say "hi" and catch up with each other. It is nothing major, merely a few exchanges of messages but it feels so nice to see a notification from someone who you don’t get to interact with on a daily basis.
Especially in this crazy period of life, living amongst a pandemic, it can feel quite lonely sometimes. A couple of my friends decided to create a little group chat which makes it easier to keep up with more than one person at a time. Sometimes creating a chat with a group of friends is also more interactive and fun! Another thing my high school friend group decided to do was start hosting weekly Zoom calls. We would turn it into a happy hour or merely just a quick catch up to see how everyone was doing.
Once it is safe to do so, I would love to get the chance to plan dinners and get togethers with friends and be able to connect in person again. For all of my friends who are a little further away, we constantly talk about planning a trip and connecting in one city to see each other again.
Making new friends and connections is a part of life but don’t forget about those people who were once a big part of your life. I know how special it feels when someone reaches out with even a simple text. While writing this blog, I reached out to a college friend who I hadn’t spoken to in months and it felt good to just say hi and chat with her even if for a short while. So I encourage you to do the same!
