A open letter to my best friends before we separate for college

Dear My Better Two Thirds,

The three of us have been inseparable all throughout high school. From car rides up the coast of California to adventures across the Atlantic, my fondest memories always include you. Through sickness (which most of the time was caused by me being clumsy and injuring myself) and health, we’ve supported each other. Although there was some overlap in our college applications, we ended up choosing three different schools: Northwestern University, UC Berkeley, and UCLA. But now the moment we’ve spent four years working for (and simultaneously dreading) is here: actually leaving for college. Being the one moving the farthest away, I’ve thought a lot about how this change will affect our friendship. At first I was terrified at the idea of us separating. But now I realize that as the physical distance between us grows, our friendship will only get closer.

We have so many inside jokes to the point where we legitimately have our own language (seriously, it has grammar and everything). Although it’ll be hard in college trying to translate how we normally talk, I know we’ll always understand one another. Our perpetual group message will be our go-to resource to tell each other every hilarious occurrence that happens while we’re separated. Anytime I find a Facebook post that reminds me of you, you can be sure that I’ll post it on your wall. And, of course, traditional snail mail is great too. I definitely will be sending you care packages of puppy chow from the Midwest, and if you guys send me some California avocados during winter quarter, I won’t even try to hide my tears of joy.

Also, when we’re reunited during breaks, we can meet up in different cities! However, I won’t be offended if you guys never visit Chicago during Winter Break. Forcing you to endure negative twenty degree weather would be more detrimental to our friendship than living thousands of miles apart! Once each of us becomes an expert on our respective cities, we can give each other complimentary campus tours and show off the coolest spots in our new homes.

With that being said, we will always continue our playful feud over which of us is attending the “best” school. Whether it be making fun of our schools’ nicknames or name dropping famous alumni, we’ll always keep our normal banter. On the other hand, even though I’ll always have allegiance to my fellow Wildcats, I can say with the utmost sincerity that your schools must be phenomenal institutions because you two (the smartest and most passionate people I know) will be studying there.

Now, just like our time living together in the same city, this letter must end. I fear the day when “See you tomorrow” must turn into “See you at [insert some holiday months away].” I know we’ll go on to make new friends once we get on campus, but our friendship won’t be any weaker. In fact, gaining new friends will only add to our ever-growing, super amazing friend circle. But for those days when you need to talk to an old pal from high school, always remember that even though we’re in different time zones, I’m only a phone call away.

Lots of Love,

Your Thankful Third

(Image via iStock)