- Going The Distance -
By Sarah Pollok I’ve maintained a lot of long-distance friendships in my life, with eight of my best friends currently living outside of the country. From Denmark to Seattle, Oxford to Pennsylvania, the people I love are scattered across the map. I don’t joke when I tell people that I know time zones like most know times tables. Over the years I read a lot of articles on how to maintain these relationships and, as someone who is pretty experienced in the long-distance game, I can say with unwavering confidence that most of them are full of shit. After recently reading an article that claimed weekly Skype calls and matching heart tattoos were the keys to a lasting overseas BFF, I was done. ‘Oh dear god,’ I thought to myself as I calmly exited the website, ‘someone has got to get real with people’. So, this is me, ‘getting real’ with you.
I was seventeen when my three best (and at the time, only) friends all moved to the US and left me with the realisation that while I knew a lot about friendship, long distance was a totally different game. Looking back it’s funny how much attention is put on long distance couples, while friends in separate cities are left to figure it out through a whole lot of trial and error. Many don’t survive and drift their separate ways, but when they survive, you can bet they become some of the most solid and fulfilling people in your life. Let’s start by stating the obvious yet overwhelmingly ignored truth; long distance is a pain in the ass. No one in their right mind would choose the early mornings and late nights, the feeling desperate when they never reply, or guilty when you don’t. There, we’re off to a good start, the truth is pessimistic, but it’s out there; we’re getting real, remember?
