Student Life August 2019

FRIENDSHIPS BY
GRACE SMITH
Good friendships are with people who don’t
make you feel like you have to scramble for
words, or who understand that sometimes
you don’t always need to talk to be content.
They’re the people you argue with but who
still stick by you and, in many ways, they’re
like family. Because of this, I don’t think it’s
too much of a stretch to say that, establishing
a strong friendship is akin to coming home,
because you find someone who you can
really be yourself around.
Maintaining contact with friends after
you move away however, can be difficult.
There’s the physical distance which means
you can’t hang out as much and also, you
start to make new friends and so do they.
It seems inevitable that slowly you will drift
apart, not because either of you want to, but
because you’re so wrapped up in your own
lives that it’s easy to forget and, before long,
you feel like the distance between you is so
great reaching out again can seem difficult
or awkward.
Moving from a town in south Essex to
Ipswich, I can say that I’ve lost a
few connections this way. I remember I would
get into internal debates with myself over
whether or not it was worthwhile keeping the
connection when it felt like I was the only one
attempting to establish contact and I have let
go of some because of this. What I’ve learnt
however, was that if the friendship has a good
foundation, it doesn’t really matter how much
time has passed in between talking to each
other. In fact, some of the best memories I
have are meeting up with friends after being
apart for so long; it becomes more special
that way because you don’t know when you’ll
next have time for each other.
For my part, if I feel I haven’t been as
available over an extended period, then I
always try to make it right by arranging to
meet up and do something together.
What’s important to remember though is
that, friendships come and go, and that if
they do drift away then it’s not personal. But
that it’s never too late to send someone a
message to let them know you’re thinking of
them and want to meet up.
69 • MY LIFE • STUDENT LIFE