Tiny Silver Linings to Living Far Away From Your BFF

I’d had best friends before, of course. I had boy best friends when I was really young and summer best friends and best friends at my new school when I moved away from my old best friends. But I had never had a BFF before. In 1999, at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, I met my BFF, Anna. I don’t know exactly how I knew she was The One but I knew immediately we clicked. She was a year younger so when I graduated high school, our first BFF test occurred.

I moved four hours away for college and she stayed home. So we wrote letters and chatted on AIM and visited each other when we could. And that continued all throughout college. Then we both lived in New York, she was my Maid of Honor in my wedding, we could hang out more frequently, and then two years ago I moved across the country. We have a constant text window going on and we visit when we can and it’s not perfect and sometimes it’s hard, but there are some tiny silver linings to having your BFF live far away from you and here they are.

1. You can buy the EXACT same things

If you’re anything like me, it’s sometimes hard to not own the exact same things as your friends. And if you live in the same place that can get awkward. “Oh good, you’re not wearing your She & Him shirt!” is something I have to say whenever I wear mine around one of my friends.

BUT if you live in opposite places, you can have the same wardrobe and accessories and everything without fear of accidentally twinning. I bought a new bag, showed it to my BFF, and then she got the same one. And really, since we see each other so infrequently, it makes it okay to hang out carrying the same bag!

2. Mail is fun!

Oh boy, do I like sending and receiving mail. I find myself monthly quoting Rachel Green and “catching up on my correspondence.” It’s so fun to put together post cards and packages and little gifts and you have a great excuse to do it if your BFF is on the other side of the country!

3. Live texting shows is ALMOST as good as watching together

Last week was the premiere of Shondaland Thursdays and #TGIT so obviously it was all I was interested in discussing. My BFF agrees and was texting me while she was watching Scandal on the East Coast and then I texted her during How To Get Away With Murder on the West Coast.

Obviously it would have been great to pour giant glasses of red wine and watch it together but live texting has its own joys.

4. You can talk freely about your co-workers

Sometimes it’s hard to share stories about your co-workers because your BFF might meet them; at a party, randomly on the street, accidentally on Tinder. So if your BFF doesn’t live near you, you can freely complain about anyone without fear of anything uncomfortable! And no need to whisper in public!

5. When they visit, you can show them cool things!

If you live in the same city, you probably already know the same places. But if you live in different places, you can show your BFF all the cool stuff YOU love!

6. Video chatting is fun

Wanna show off a new outfit? Or do a really good impression of that girl you overheard at Starbucks? GET ON A VIDEO CHAT PLATFORM! Immediately. It’s fun and if you live in the same place there’s no need to be video chatting.

7. It’s a great excuse to text constantly

Look, you’re gonna be texting constantly no matter what. But now there’s a REASON. Dressing room pics, pics of dumb signs, updates on the person sitting next to you at the movies. All of these tiny moments in your life can be shared INSTANTLY.

8. It’s 2014! It’s super easy to share insignificant things you’d see if you lived closer

We’ve got Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Texting, FaceTime, Skype, Video Messages, Audio Messages, I mean, there’s even a feature on iOS8 where I could SHARE MY LOCATION with my BFF indefinitely. I won’t do it, but still. We can stay in constant contact and it’s great!

(90210 image , Friends image , New Girl gif , 30 Rock gif via)